Responding to the inclusion of the name of the second president of the Republic of Indonesia, Suharto, on the list of candidates for the title of national hero, Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"The attempt to make Suharto a national hero is the greatest betrayal of the people's mandate since 1998. If this proposal is followed up, reformasi (the political reform process that began with Suharto's resignation in 1998) could potentially end at the hands of the Prabowo administration. Suharto fell due to public protests that gave birth to reformasi. Therefore, awarding Suharto the title of national hero could be seen as the end of reformasi itself.
"The attempt to make Suharto a national hero is the greatest betrayal of the people's mandate since 1998. If this proposal is followed up, reformasi (the political reform process that began with Suharto's resignation in 1998) could potentially end at the hands of the Prabowo administration. Suharto fell due to public protests that gave birth to reformasi. Therefore, awarding Suharto the title of national hero could be seen as the end of reformasi itself.
