Suharto's long shadow – Indonesia struggles with its past | DW Documentary
Indonesia 1998: Toppling Suharto and the bloody path to democracy. Three affected people report how protests, violence and hope etched their lives.
After 32 years of President Suharto’s authoritarian rule, student voices of protest were growing ever louder. Their demands: democracy and human rights. Some would pay with their lives in the ensuing clashes with army and police, looting, mass rapes and incitement against ethnic minorities. Tragedies that brought the Suharto regime to an end and ushered in a new period of reform and democratization under successor Habibie. But many of those affected are still living in the shadows of the past. We met three of them in Jakarta, the epicenter of the protest movement. Wawan was killed in the student rallies. We visit his mother, who attends a weekly vigil and is still fighting for justice today. Wiranti Widyastuti, 11 years old at the time, only survived by hiding from an angry mob. As an Indonesian with Chinese heritage, reintegrating into society has been a struggle. Academic Vishnu Juwono was a student back in 1998, and the son of a Suharto government minister. How did he experience this period of upheaval? Three life stories etched by fear, courage and hope — what’s their message for the country and the current government?
00:00 Intro: Shadows of the past
00:09 Jakarta 1998: a city in turmoil
01:29 Maria Sumarsih: a mother’s battle
02:27 The Semanggi shooting – 17 fatalities
03:37 Students against Suharto: the turning point
05:11 Reformasi begins – Habibie assumes power
06:06 Vishnu Juwono: between protest and power
06:34 Wiranti Widyastuti: surviving as a minority
07:43 May 1998: violence against ethnic Chinese
08:40 Aftermath of the unrest – trauma and hope
10:27 Kamisan protests: 18 years fighting for justice
11:09 Prabowo and the open wounds of the past
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Video “Suharto's long shadow – Indonesia struggles with its past | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 12/22/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.