Body of Indonesia's Suharto arrives in hometown for state funeral

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The body of former Indonesian President Suharto, who led a military dictatorship for three decades and whose US-backed regime killed hundreds of thousands of left-wing opponents, arrived in his hometown Monday for a state funeral. A Hercules C-130 carrying Suharto's body arrived in the city of Solo, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, just after 10 a.m., accompanied by two planes used by his family and friends. "May god bless his soul and forgive his mistakes and sins," said Agung Laksono, the speaker of Indonesia's house of representatives, who led brief ceremony at Suharto's Jakarta villa early Monday morning. Suharto died of multiple-organ failure Sunday, after more than three weeks on life support at a Jakarta hospital. He was 86.