The New York Times-20080129-In Poignant and Low-Key Ceremony- Suharto Is Buried in Indonesia

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In Poignant and Low-Key Ceremony, Suharto Is Buried in Indonesia

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Indonesia's former strongman, Suharto, was buried Monday in a family mausoleum near here with a military honor guard, Muslim prayers and an overlay of the Javanese mysticism that, for some people, had given him the aura of a king.

Twenty-three hours after his death in Jakarta after a three-week hospitalization, Mr. Suharto's coffin was lowered into the ground in a crypt on a sacred mountain just outside Solo, beside the tombs of his wife, Siti Hartinah, and of three other relatives.

Soon afterward, the sky over the mountain opened in a powerful thunderstorm -- weeping for the death of a fallen leader, in the belief of Javanese mystics.

The funeral was respectful and low-key, as if Mr. Suharto had not been driven from office 10 years ago by rioting, demonstrations and a rejection of his rule by his military chief and cabinet ministers.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was a high-ranking general at the time of the ouster, flew here Monday morning with Suharto family members, mourners and government officials in a small fleet of military aircraft.

He asked Indonesians to open our hearts for everything he has done, noting that Mr. Suharto had made mistakes because no one is perfect.

We offer his body and his deeds to the motherland, Mr. Yudhoyono said at the funeral, where he gave a military salute. His service is an example to us.

During his 32-year rule, Mr. Suharto ravaged the nation's coffers in what the United Nations said was the most extensive example of corruption by any contemporary leader. He ruled Indonesia by force and fear, and was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

No one since then has so dominated Indonesia, and his death seemed for some people to stir a longing for a strong and even overpowering leader.

I feel that Suharto is the king in the hearts of the people, and I also feel that Suharto is different from other leaders in Indonesia, said Emha Ainun Najib, a cultural historian. It seemed that Suharto had the aura of a Javanese king.

As tiny birds swirled around the entryway to the mausoleum, a military honor guard delivered the coffin, which was draped in a red and white Indonesian flag and preceded by a portrait of Mr. Suharto in the full, medal-laden uniform of a five-star general.

The coffin was briefly opened and then lowered into the grave next to the polished marble tomb of his wife. Beside her tomb was her portrait on a stand, with what seemed to be a warm, welcoming smile.

There was quiet background music, a traditional melody called Falling Flowers about the death of a hero.

Standing at a microphone, the Suhartos' eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, offered an apology for what she called her father's mistakes, as she had Sunday when his death was announced.

Then, addressing him directly, she said: Only God can repay you for your goodness. Farewell, Father. We send our prayers.

She was in tears when she finished, as were the family members who stood near her.

One of her sisters, Siti Hediati, raised a tiny camera and took a picture of the grave.

A Muslim prayer was said, a bugler played taps, and the family gathered around the tomb to toss in handfuls of white and pink flower petals. A few hundred people attended the ceremony.

Outside, behind a cordon of military security, villagers had climbed through the woods to watch from a distance.

The farmers here are beneficiaries of Mr. Suharto's economic policies, and as with some other repressive leaders around the world, the harshness of his rule seems to have faded for many.

Standing last week by the bright green rice fields below the hill, a farmer named Sukanto, 50, said he longed for a return to what he remembered as the stability of Mr. Suharto's rule.

Suharto is the only president I admire, among them all, he said, leaning on a motorbike and smoking a clove cigarette. He's the one who gave us a better life. He gave us rice seed to plant, and he developed our country.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: Overlays of Javanese mysticism were part of Suharto's funeral. He was buried on a sacred mountain beside the tomb of his wife.; Thousands of people lined the streets on Monday as Mr. Suharto's coffin was taken to a family mausoleum for a low-key funeral overseen by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN MOTT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)MAP: Mr. Suharto was buried near Solo, on the island of Java.