the armed forces was to secure resources coveted by multinational
corporations that, in essence, funded Suharto's government.
Although oil- and other mineral-extracting companies took the
lead, they were joined by a wide variety of corporations that
benefited from Indonesia's cheap labor, natural resources, and
markets for development projects and consumer goods. Indonesia
is a prime example of an economy built around investment by the
international banking and commercial communities. Backed by
the promise of paying off loans through its resources, it went deep
into debt to finance infrastructure projects that in turn generated
demand for hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and the
construction, service, banking, and transportation activities that
accompany these. Wealthy Indonesians and foreigners gained,
while the majority of Indonesians suffered. Resistance
movements were beaten back by the armed forces.
Like the people, Indonesia's environment suffered severely.
Mines, pulp and paper factories, and other resource-exploiting
industries denuded enormous areas of one of the world's largest
rainforests. Rivers were clogged with toxic wastes. The air around
industrial sites and cities was laden with pollution. In 1997,
Southeast Asia made world headlines when it was covered in a
haze of noxious smoke generated by out-of-control forest fires in
Indonesia—the consequence of EHM-induced corruption.
Other victims of the "economic miracle" are the Bugis, Dyaks,
Melanesias, and other indigenous cultures; their lands have been
stolen and their lives and traditions destroyed. This modern geno-
cide cannot be measured solely in terms of human suffering; it is
an attack on the soul of humanity, and especially discouraging in
light of earlier genocides, including ones conducted in the United
States against our indigenous people. While those are condemned
today, the model is repeated—and financed by the U.S.
government and our corporations.
47THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
EMPIRE