INDONESIA:Former Indonesian president Suharto, whose 32 years in power were marred by corruption and rights abuses, was buried near the royal city of Solo in a state funeral with full military honours yesterday, writes Ahmad Pathoniin Giribangun, Indonesia.
Tens of thousands of people lined the roads in Jakarta and around Solo in central Java, hoping to catch a last glimpse of the man who came from a humble background but ruled his subjects like a Javanese king.
The body was flown from the capital to Solo, then driven to the family mausoleum at Giribangun, 35km (21 miles) northeast of the city, close to the burial grounds of Solo's kings.
Ousted in 1998 in a student-led protest amid social and economic chaos, Suharto died in hospital on Sunday aged 86 after suffering multiple organ failure.
Praised by many as a visionary who helped modernise his country, he was also heavily criticised for widespread corruption and human rights abuses.
Suharto's coffin was lowered into his grave, next to that of his wife, who died in 1996, and one salvo was fired at the funeral ceremony, led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"I on behalf of the nation and the Indonesian military, surrender the body and soul of Haji Muhammad Suharto to the soil of the motherland," said Mr Yudhoyono.
Tens of thousands of people, many with hand-held TV cameras and mobile phone cameras in their hands, turned out to see the funeral procession. Some waved as the hearse went by, others threw flowers. In the cemetery, the air was heavy with the scent of jasmine.
Police and soldiers lined the streets, and flags flew at half-mast. National television broadcast the funeral live, accompanied by a famous Indonesian song mourning the loss of a war hero.