Issue No 76 | 03 November 2000 | |
SatireWiranto’s charity album inspires genocidal maniacs everywhereBy The Chaser
Indonesia's favourite former strongman, General Wiranto, has recently decided to record an album of love songs. Entitled To You My Indonesia, Wiranto's album has already sold 8,000 copies and is raising money for refugees.
Wiranto will spend every cent raised helping the militia groups to continue their humanitarian work in West Timor. "We have already done so much to alleviate the burden of troublesome possessions on the island, but there is much more to be done," he said. When asked his motivation for his sudden interest in charity, Wiranto admitted that having created so many of Indonesia's refugees, he felt a certain sense of responsibility. "My army did so much for refugees before Wahid threw me out," he said. "Without us, there would be hardly any refugees in Indonesia, but today there are nearly a million. If the TNI had not become involved, there would still be all of those buildings and belongings that stood between the Timorese people and all the benefits of refugee status. Many of them received free holidays in places like Australia, all thanks to our efforts." The album features the smooth, crooner-style delivery that has seen Wiranto described as an Indonesian Val Doonican, or perhaps Perry Como, while his links to organised crime have already lead to flattering comparisons with Frank Sinatra. The former chief of the army has chosen a very special selection of sensual classics for his new album, including Talking Heads' 'Burning down the house', the Corrs' 'Runaway', and the Beatles classic 'Happiness is a Warm Gun'. Wiranto's innovative idea has already inspired other former perpetrators of genocide, with Slobodan Milosevic announcing his own album plans last week. The former Serbian President is raising money to pay for the funerals of many Kosovars. When asked why he suddenly wanted to help in this way, he explained that in keeping with the tradition started by his army during last year's conflict, the funds would be made available only on the conditions that the Kosovars were buried alive. The album's first single is expected to be a cover version of U2 and Brian Eno's 'Miss Sarajevo.' However, Milosevic has rewritten the lyrics to reflect his belief that no-one would have actually missed Sarajevo if his troops had succeeded in razing it to the ground.
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