History Repeats Itself? From the “King of Java” to the Pharaoh of Egypt
by Michel Chossudovsky
[print_link]
From Suharto to Mubarak: History Repeats Itself?
BELOW: Students revolt in Java in 1998.
2
The Indonesian rupiah was destabilized, food prices skyrocketed, real wages collapsed by more than fifty percent. Nike workers in export manufacturing were receiving $45 a month before the crisis. In the wake of the devaluation of the rupiah, their wages plummeted to less than $20 a month.
3
4
On May 13, 1998, the shooting of six students at Trisakti University in Jakarta led to demands for the resignation of president Suharto, who had occupied the presidency for 31 years.
5
6
7
8
9
10
The top brass of both the Indonesian and Egyptian military and intelligence apparatus were trained and groomed in America, at the same military academies. Both Mubarak and Suharto were installed by Washington.
11
Both regimes and their military committed atrocities against their people. Both leaders served to undermine post-colonial nationalism.
12
The 1965 CIA sponsored Massacre
In 1965, Major General Suharto instrumented a CIA sponsored massacre of more than half a million members and supporters (including family members) of the Communist Party of Indonesia. The massacre was implemented in coordination with the US embassy: the ultimate objective was to weaken and unseat the nationalist Sukarno government which had the backing of the Communist Party.
Air Force Marshall Hosni Mubarak, in a different context, served a similar role in the transition from the nationalist Nasser-Sadat period. He became Vice-President in 1975 and was installed as president in the wake of the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Declassified documents confirm the extent of the US sponsored massacre in Indonesia:
13
14
15
The CIA’s intervention in the State Department publication is only the latest in a series of such controversies, dating back to 1990 when the CIA censored a State volume on Iran in the early 1950s to leave out any reference to the CIA-backed coup that overthrew Mossadegh in 1953.
(see National Security Archive, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB52/
16
Regime Change in Indonesia
.
The atmosphere in Jakarta in May 1998 was one of jubilation, very similar to what is now occurring in Egypt. Suharto was replaced on the orders of Washington by his Vice President B. J. Habibie.
17
18
19
20
The students were dancing on the roof, leaping into the long ornamental fountain outside, jumping in the air and even rolling among the debris of three days of occupation. Some wept, others prayed, couples hugged each other, incredulous that just nine days after troops killed four of their number at Trisakti campus in Jakarta, they had managed to bring down the leader they held accountable.
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Throughout the day yesterday, more and more students arrived to share in the celebrations of an astonishing victory, the toppling of the longest-serving Asian leader. Small trucks cruised around with volunteers throwing out drinks and bags of rice donated by a wealthy sympathiser. Students danced and sang and took pictures of each other.
29
30
31
32
33
.
LEFT: Field Marshall Tantawi and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Tantawi has developed a longstanding relationship to the US military, at the highest levels, from the time when he was in command of allied forces during the Gulf war in 1991. Ahmed Shafik, a former commander in Chief of the Air Force occupies the position of Prime Minister.34
The military not only has the mandate to implement democracy, several opposition leaders including Mohammed Al Baradei have called upon the Egyptian population to support the military.
35
36
37
Egypt was a common destination for torture of detainees sent by U.S, Global Research, February 16, 2010).
.
The United States and the Overthrow of Sukarno, 1965-1967
Peter Dale Scott
.
Notes
.
1. On a personal note. It is through this 1998 article in the Irish Times on Indonesia that I first established contact with Finian Cunningham, who is now a regular contributor to Global Research.
.
Michel Chossudovsky, Bandung, Indonesia, 15 February 2011
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/14/2067022/egypts-opposition-fights-itself.html#ixzz1ECBNPOhF
________________
MICHEL CHOSSUDOVSKY is a senior founding editor of Global Research.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: crgeditor@yahoo.com
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
For media inquiries: crgeditor@yahoo.com
© Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca, 2011