FULL HONOURS AT SUHARTO FUNERAL
Al Jazeera News Agency - January 28, 2008The body of Indonesia's former president Suharto has been flown to his hometown in preparation for a state funeral with full military honours.
The 86-year-old former general, who ruled Indonesia with an iron grip for more than three decades, died on Sunday from multiple organ failure.
His body was held overnight at his villa in the capital, Jakarta, before his flag-draped coffin was driven by military escort to an Indonesian air force base on the outskirts of the city.
Crowds of Indonesians lined the route, many waving flowers as the white hearse drove past.
Suharto's body was then flown on board an Indonesian air force jet to his hometown of Solo in central Java, where the funeral will be led by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president.
Announcing Suharto's death on Sunday Yudhoyono declared a week of national mourning.
"I invite all the people of Indonesia to pray that may the deceased's good deeds and dedication to the nation be accepted by Allah the almighty," he said in a televised address.
"Suharto has done a great service to the nation."
Agung Laksono, the speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, called on
Indonesians "to pray so that the soul of the late [Suharto] be accepted by God almighty, that his sins be pardoned and his good deeds be received."
Several current and former regional leaders including Mahathir Mohammad, the former Malaysian prime minister, are expected to attend Monday's funeral.
Also attending will be Xanana Gusmao, the prime minister of East Timor and the former head of the guerilla resistance to Indonesian rule over the now independent country.
Legacy
Suharto will be buried in his family's mausoleum on the outskirts of Solo next to the tomb of his wife who died in 1996.
The former president's admission to hospital in critical condition earlier this month sparked a national debate over his legacy.
Suharto was forced to stand down in 1998 amid widespread protests triggered by the impact of the Asian financial crisis.
He was accused of siphoning off billions of dollars in state funds into his own secret bank accounts, but his lawyers successfully argued that he was too ill to stand trial.
According to one study, by corruption watchdog Transparency International, Suharto and his family embezzled up to $35bn during his 32 years in power.
Speaking shortly after his death on Sunday, Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hariyanti "Tutut" Rukama, called for forgiveness for her father.
"Father has returned to God," she said, speaking outside the central Jakarta hospital where he had been treated for the past three weeks.
"We ask that if he had any faults, please forgive them ... may he be absolved of all his mistakes."
Source: Al Jazeera News Agency - english.aljazeera.net