Attorney General insists on summoning Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's office is insisting
\nSoeharto answer a summons for questioning on Monday despite being
\ninformed by lawyers on Friday that the former president is
\nphysically and mentally unfit.<\/p>\n
\"We have been watching Pak Harto closely and he has so far
\nbeen able to travel, so we are of the opinion that he is in
\nnormal condition and therefore able to be questioned,\" Attorney
\nGeneral Marzuki Darusman told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Fulfill the summons first and then if there is a problem, it
\nwill be taken care of during the process,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Lawyers representing the 78-year-old former president
\nofficially informed the Attorney General's office Friday morning
\nthat their client was too sick to answer the summons.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Harto's poor physical condition won't enable him to go
\nthrough the questioning process,\" lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon
\ntold journalists after a one-hour meeting with Chairul Imam,
\ndirector of corruption affairs at the Attorney General's office.<\/p>\n
\"I will be present on Monday on his behalf,\" Tampubolon said.<\/p>\n
But a spokesman for the Attorney General's office, Soehandoyo,
\ntold reporters that the \"investigation should not be halted just
\nbecause the suspect is sick.\"<\/p>\n
He added that the Attorney General's office would cross-check
\nand coordinate with Soeharto's medical team to look into his
\nillness.<\/p>\n
\"Soeharto's lawyers will submit a bill of health from the
\ndoctors ... and after we have received the letters, alternative
\nsteps will be taken,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The statement came a day after the attorney general's office
\nannounced that Soeharto was summoned as a suspect of alleged
\ncorruption during his 32 years in power.<\/p>\n
Officials said that the summons was issued as new evidence had
\nbeen discovered to warrant the resumption of the investigation of
\nthe former ruler.<\/p>\n
New evidence pointed to \"a misuse of power and authority\" in
\nissuing government regulations and presidential decrees to amass
\nfunds for foundations linked to Soeharto, his family and
\nassociates.<\/p>\n
Separately, human rights lawyer Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
\nsaid there must be a \"second opinion\" on Soeharto's health and
\ncalled on the Attorney General's office \"not to just believe\" the
\nreport from the former ruler's medical team.<\/p>\n
\"He was able to travel to Surakarta, so why all of a sudden
\ncan't he now appear at the Attorney General's office,\" Abdul
\nHakim said referring to Soeharto's visit to the grave of his late
\nwife Tien in Central Java in November.<\/p>\n
A source also told the Post on Thursday that Soeharto even
\nvisited a golf course in West Java.<\/p>\n
Tampubolon, when interviewed by the Post by telephone, would
\nnot confirm Thursday's walkabout but admitted that Soeharto
\ntravels regularly to Surakarta and to his ranch in Tapos, West
\nJava for his own \"therapy\".<\/p>\n
\"Doctors recommend Pak Harto to walk a lot and to travel to
\nplaces he likes,\" Tampubolon said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, who has repeatedly denied allegations that he
\namassed a fortune during his reign, was twice hospitalized last
\nyear, once for a stroke and once for intestinal bleeding.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien
\nRais said that bringing Soeharto to court would be an important
\nstep toward restoring the people's confidence (in the
\ngovernment).<\/p>\n
\"By taking former President Soeharto to court, the people will
\nsee that there is equal treatment before the law; that there are
\nno exceptions, not even for a former president,\" he said on
\nFriday. (01\/byg\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/attorney-general-insists-on-summoning-soeharto-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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