AGO faces renewed debate over Soeharto case<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Surakarta<\/p>\n
Apparently exhausted over pressure to bring the country's former
\nauthoritarian leader Soeharto to court over corruption
\nallegations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Monday
\nthat the matter was now in the hands of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Caught between a medical statement claiming that Soeharto has
\npermanent brain damage, and a Supreme Court order for the AGO to
\nallow the former strongman to "completely recover" his health
\nbefore bringing him to court, Attorney General Abdul Rahman gave
\nup and asked the Supreme Court to take back the lead in the case,
\nwhich has been suspended for years.<\/p>\n
"A team of doctors have said Soeharto suffers from permanent
\nbrain damage. Yet, we're stuck with this Supreme Court order to
\ntreat him until he's recovered. So, it's the Supreme Court who
\nshould take the lead now ... is the order still effective or
\nwhat?" he told a hearing with House of Representatives Commission
\nIII on security and legal affairs.<\/p>\n
The AGO has been under heavy public pressure to bring the
\nformer president, now 84, to court on charges of massive
\ncorruption and gross human rights violations during his 32-year
\n"New Order" regime.<\/p>\n
The AGO has said that nothing can feasibly be done to assist
\nwith Soeharto's medical recovery, despite him frequently being
\nseen in public physically fit and interacting in conversations.<\/p>\n
His outdoor activities include frequent visits to friends in
\nhospital, and to the Nusa Kambangan maximum security penitentiary
\nwhere his infamous son Tommy Soeharto is incarcerated for
\nmurdering the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
"If we put Soeharto on trial, the doctors say he may be able
\nto answer the first two or three easy questions, but not those
\nthat require logic or heavy memory retrieval about numbers or
\ndates. They said his brain would hang," Abdul Rahman said.<\/p>\n
Several months ago, the powerful Golkar Party, which was
\nfounded by Soeharto and used as his personal political machine
\nduring his 32-years in power, suggested the idea of pardoning
\nSoeharto due to his condition. The idea met with harsh public
\ncriticism.<\/p>\n
The issue of how the country should deal with Soeharto
\nreemerged after Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also the
\ncurrent chairman of Golkar, hinted that the party might propose
\nfor the annulment of the 1998 People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) decree that explicitly stipulates legal moves against graft
\ncases including those involving Soeharto.<\/p>\n
"Some six months ago, his family sought to lift the travel ban
\nSoeharto him on the basis that they thought it would be improper
\nif he passed away under a travel ban status," Abdul Rahman said.<\/p>\n
In Surakarta, House deputy speaker Zaenal Ma'arif said the
\nPresident should have the AGO issue a decision to put any
\ninvestigation to a stop, and for the People's Consultative
\nAssembly to revoke its decree on Soeharto.<\/p>\n
"This is to give a clear status to him and his family. Now,
\nit's like they're under siege with a legal status that seems to
\nnever end. It's not proper for this battle to continue until he
\npasses away," he said.<\/p>\n
Besides, Zaenal claimed, Soeharto also brought many benefits
\nand significant progress to Indonesia during his term.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ago-faces-renewed-debate-over-soeharto-case-1447893297",
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