JAKARTA, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The death of former Indonesian dictator Suharto is an opportunity for victims of his repressive regime to get justice, Human Rights Watch said.
Suharto's three decades of military rule were marked by corruption and human rights abuses including censorship, torture,and massacres of political dissidents, Human Rights Watch said. However, since his fall from power in 1998, neither Suharto nor virtually any of his associates have been punished.
The dictator kept his allegedly ill-gotten gains -- estimated in the billions of dollars -- and died a wealthy man last week at age 86.
"Suharto has gotten away with murder -- another dictator who's lived out his life in luxury and escaped justice," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But many of Suharto's cronies are still around, so the Indonesian government should take the chance to put his many partners in human rights abuse on trial."
The dictator's death is also an opportunity for Indonesia to address the impunity and elevated economic status enjoyed by security forces who played an important role in Suharto's regime, Human Rights Watch said.
