Disgraced and vilified, Suharto dies aged 86

By Anthony Deutsch, AP
Sunday, 27 January 2008

Indonesia's former dictator Suharto, an army general who crushed Indonesia's communist movement and pushed aside the country's founding father to usher in 32 years of tough rule that saw up to a million political opponents killed, died today. He was 86.

"He has died," Dr Christian Johannes said that he died at 1.10pm local time.

Finally toppled by mass street protests in 1998, the US Cold War ally's departure opened the way for democracy in this predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million people and he withdrew from public life, rarely venturing from his comfortable villa on a leafy lane in the capital.