Sjafrie sjamsoeddin suharto biography
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin is a man of excellent personal discipline.
He once was Suharto's bodyguard and one of his most loyal confidant until his downfall and also an old friend of Indonesia's current president Prabowo Subianto..
TheJakartaPost
hen riots broke out in Indonesia's capital in leading to dictator Soeharto's downfall, activists were detained, women raped, and stores owned by ethnic Chinese ransacked in unrest many say was stoked by the army.
The military figure in charge of Jakarta's security at the time was last week sworn in as the new defense minister of the world's fourth-most populous nation.
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, 72, has been accused by rights groups of abuses during the riots, as well as against separatists in East Timor, Aceh and Papua.
"Human rights enforcement is increasingly bleak," said Maria Catarina Sumarsih, whose son was shot dead in late by the army after the fall of Suharto.
"We might see Indonesia returning to a militaristic state, like during Suharto's era."
Sjafrie is a close friend of newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto, having met at a military academy where they were classmates.
