“I was truly born in Kemusuk village and am truly the son of a farmer from Kemusuk village...”

SUHARTO’S baritone voice filled the palatial office in Bina Graha, Jakarta, that Monday afternoon at the end of October 1974. In the building next to the State Palace, Suharto had invited in about 100 national and foreign reporters. According to the agenda, Suharto wanted to tell his life story.

The meeting, which was also attended by a number o