Govt backtracks on Soeharto's custody<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Security reasons, rather than legal arguments,
\nmay be the ultimate provocation for moving former president
\nSoeharto to a state-protected location after what seems to be
\ngrowing apprehension on the part of the government in recent
\ndays.<\/p>\n
Conflicting statements seem to indicate that the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office may be backtracking on its plan due to
\nintervention or because of issues of legality.<\/p>\n
After unrest around Soeharto's residence in recent days, the
\nplan could also be facilitated or bogged down further as
\nSoeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana is scheduled
\nto meet with President Abdurrahman Wahid in order to plead her
\nfather's case.<\/p>\n
After boldly declaring on Monday that Soeharto would be moved
\nto a different locale to ensure his safety and expedite
\ninvestigations of his alleged abuses of power, Attorney General
\nMarzuki Darusman has since softened his stance.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night he seemed to backtrack, saying that the
\ndecision still "could not be finalized".<\/p>\n
"I have discussed the plan with the President (Abdurrahman
\nWahid) but so far there has not been any decision whether he
\n(Soeharto) is going to be moved or not," Marzuki told The Jakarta
\nPost by phone.<\/p>\n
Marzuki's statement came just hours after he met with
\nAbdurrahman Wahid at the state palace earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Palace sources told the Post on Friday that Abdurrahman did
\nnot give Marzuki a "go ahead" during the meeting.<\/p>\n
On Friday Marzuki even suggested that the decision to move
\nSoeharto was merely a suggestion.<\/p>\n
"We have problems with the legal basis for doing such a thing.
\nIt is really a suggestion to the (Soeharto) family to consider
\nthe former president's safety," he told journalists after a
\nhearing at the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Marzuki on Friday repeatedly stressed the "security factor" as
\nstrong grounds for moving Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Marzuki remarked that he would soon meet with National Police
\nChief Lt. Gen. Roesdihardjo to discuss the matter, implying that
\nif police, after analyzing the situation, feel that they can no
\nlonger guarantee security around Soeharto's residence on Jl.
\nCendana, Central Jakarta, then there could be sufficient grounds
\nto move him.<\/p>\n
It is unclear whether two consecutive days of violence in
\nCentral Jakarta by protesters demanding Soeharto's prosecution
\nhad actually helped increase the sense of urgency for Soeharto to
\nbe moved from his current residence.<\/p>\n
When asked if the unrest was helping expedite things, Marzuki
\nmerely replied that "today there should have already been a
\ndecision on the matter" referring to his delayed meeting with the
\nNational Police chief.<\/p>\n
When asked whether President Abdurrahman has given the green
\nlight for moving Soeharto, Marzuki said rather vaguely that the
\nPresident "has the right to give attention to the matter."<\/p>\n
There remains scant detail on the likelihood of where Soeharto
\nmight be moved.<\/p>\n
Officials have only said it would be somewhere in Jakarta, but
\nsources revealed that Soeharto's house in East Jakarta and the
\nMarines Corps Infantry Brigade in Cilandak, South Jakarta, were
\npossible venues.<\/p>\n
Marzuki, on Thursday, admitted that the Marine Corps Infantry
\nBrigade would be "one of the alternatives".<\/p>\n
"The Brigade, among several other places, is being considered
\nbut these are still highly tentative plans and there has not yet
\nbeen any decision on the matter," Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto is suspected of abusing his power and authority in
\nissuing decrees and government regulations to amass funds through
\nhis seven charitable foundations.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office had summoned executives of the
\nfoundations, including two of Soeharto's children.<\/p>\n
The office also confiscated documents relating to the six
\nfoundations as evidence in the case.<\/p>\n
Soeharto had been questioned at least four times by the
\nAttorney General's Office, but sometimes the questioning was cut
\nshort after doctors insisted that Soeharto was too ill to
\ncontinue.<\/p>\n
His lawyers have repeatedly said that Soeharto is unable to
\nundergo questioning because he cannot communicate clearly as a
\nresult of the stroke he suffered last year.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said that Soeharto's case could go to court by August
\nor earlier, and added that the security protection for the former
\npresident would be reduced to a minimum level if he and his
\nfamily did not cooperate with the investigation. (01\/byg\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-backtracks-on-soehartos-custody-1447893297",
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