No National Hero Title For SBY's In-laws, Sarwo Edhie Wibowo

Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, who served as Commander of the RPKAD era 1964-1967. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was once considered the mastermind of the September 30th Movement (G30S) in 1965. Suharto managed to beat the movement. However, Suharto could not work alone. He was assisted by Sarwo Edhie Wibowo.

The Suharto-Sarwo duet continued until the crackdown on the PKI in remote Java-Bali. The action was appreciated by many parties. This narrative made Sarwo considered worthy of being a national hero. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) did not want this to happen in his era to avoid conflicts of interest.

No one doubts the existence of the PKI as a major party in the 1960s era. Many people predicted that the PKI could seize power in Indonesia in the New Order era. However, the image of the PKI as the communist movement in the world always goes through a bloody struggle to rule.

Conditions while happening in Indonesia. The appearance of the G30S 1965 incident was believed to be a sign. The kidnapping and murder of a series of Army Generals (AD) was condemned by all Indonesian people.

This condition made Suharto take over the leadership of the AD and crush the rebel movement. The Kostrad Commander is not alone. He took Sarwo Edhie, who in fact is the Commander of the Army Para Command Regiment (RPKAD), now Kopassus.

Suharto wanted to kill the PKI's move to its roots. That desire was retaliatory. Sarwo is considered to have a grudge because his colleagues became victims of the G30S. The Suharto-Sarwo duet became phenomenal. The elite Pasukat commander led many operations to get rid of PKI sympathizers around Java.

He acted on behalf of the TNI AD. This condition made him seen as Suharto loyalist who later became the 2nd President of Indonesia. Finally, according to Sarwo, the victim of the operation reached three million people. Sarwo's action was successful. This condition led him to take a break in various positions in the Indonesian Army.

Meskipun kemudian Sarwo segera 'didutaskan' (siasat Suharto untuk menghapus sosok populer dibanding dirinya) jadi duta besar Korea Selatan pada 1975. Sekitarnya ia sebakang kehilangan popularitas dalam peta politik Indonesia. Sarwo pun meninggal dunia pada 9 November 1989.

"Yes, because I refused to be ambassadored, while General Sarwo Edhie accepted to be South Korean Ambassador and after that he was still carrying out the duties of members of the legislature. No one has sued his position or position, except himself. ."

"He resigned from the legislature because he felt he had no work or nothing he could fight for there. His conscience was not peaceful as a member of the MPR," Hoegeng recalled as written by Ramadhan KH in Hoegeng's book: Police Idaman and Reality (1993).

Sarwo's footsteps had faded in the reform era. However, Sarwo's name became increasingly prominent when SBY became President of Indonesia since 2004. Sarwo's track of success and achievements is often present in the discussion room. In fact, many also want to propose Sarwo as a national hero.

The father of Kristen Herrawati (Ani Yudhoyono) is considered worthy of being appointed as a national hero because of his achievements in crushing the G30S and PKI to its roots. As a result, the people and local government of Purworejo have proposed Sarwo's name as a candidate for national hero to the government.

The proposal received support from the Democratic Party. The chairman of the Democratic Party, Anas Urbaningrum, considers Sarwo worthy. Sarwo is considered to have fought for the safety of the state. However, rejection is also not inferior. Sarwo is considered to have grave past sins related to human rights violations.

The past sins made the families of the victims of the 1965-1966 PKI crackdown no longer live comfortably. They continued to live in fear. Sarwo himself until he died picked him up never revealing an apology to the victim's family.

The strongest rejection then emerged from the Commissioner of Komnas HAM, Natalius Pigai (now: Minister of Human Rights). Pigai considers Sarwo unfit to be a national hero because SBY's father-in-law is nothing more than a black stain from the history of the Indonesian nation.

"General Sarwo Edhie holds an important position and is considered by the public as one of the people involved in the 1965 incident and becomes a black stain of the Indonesian nation," Pigai said as quoted by the Tempo.co page, November 28, 2013.

The rejection also arose because Sarwo's achievements were considered not big enough to be made a national hero. SBY himself did not really mind the submission of Sarwo's name. For him, all Indonesian people have the right to nominate anyone who contributes to the nation and state.

However, the SBY government is only limited to supporting all proposals. The case chosen or not is different. SBY took wise steps. He did not want to make his father-in-law a national hero during his reign. Sarwo's proposal to become a mental national hero in 2013.

SBY then gave the next Indonesian President the freedom to consider Sarwo Edhie Wibowo being a national hero. However, he emphasized that he would not interfere because later there would be a conflict of interest.