"If I Had a Rocket Launcher" (by Bruce Cockburn) re: Suharto

On the occasion of the death of Indonesian dictator Suharto, an environmentalist friend who once worked in Indonesian rain forests referred me to to the lyrics of this song:


"Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered, only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher... I'd make somebody pay

"I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
But when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher... I would retaliate

"On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher... I would not hesitate

"I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims' cry
If I had a rocket launcher... Some son of a bitch would die."

(Canadian Cockburn's 1984 hit, "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" (#88 US) from the Stealing Fire album) He had written the song a year earlier, after visiting Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico that were attacked before and after his visit by Guatemalan military helicopters. His political activism continues to the present. Cockburn has traveled to many countries (such as Mozambique and Iraq), played countless benefits, and written many songs on a variety of political subjects ranging from the International Monetary Fund to land mines. His internationalist bent is reflected in the many world music influences (reggae, Latin, etc.) found in his music.

It's believed Suharto amassed a personal fortune of $15 billion to $35 billion during his regime. If there is a hell beyond those created by people like Suharto, the shameless monster is on his way there now. Yet here's what the US ambassador, probably wanting to curry favor with the world's largest Muslim nation in the War on Terror, had to say:

The US ambassador to Jakarta, Cameron Hume, hailed Suharto as a "historic figure" who "achieved remarkable economic development", while adding that there "may be some controversy over his legacy".

This contrasts with those who suffered under his rule:

"His death is a tragedy for all the victims of his crimes, they will never get justice," said Budiman Sudjatmiko, who was jailed as a student activist. "He is a perfect criminal - he can be put up there with Pol Pot and Hitler." Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch, said Suharto had "gotten away with murder - another dictator who's lived out his life in luxury and escaped justice".