Soeharto Investigation II<\/p>\n
The government's decision to reopen the corruption
\ninvestigation against former president Soeharto, while laudable,
\nhas led to concerns about whether it can succeed where the
\nprevious administration failed. The last investigation, aside
\nfrom its many shortcomings, including a lack of political will to
\ntry Soeharto, virtually exhausted all legal channels to build any
\nconvincing case of corruption against the former tyrant.<\/p>\n
That investigation came up short on any evidence of
\nsignificant wealth that was supposed to have been amassed by
\nSoeharto and his family during his 32-year reign. It also failed
\nto come up with any proof of corruption, which in legal terms
\nmeans misusing one's position to enrich oneself or others.<\/p>\n
Will a new investigation, as ordered by President Abdurrahman
\nWahid, make any headway? Even with political will and with new
\nAttorney General Marzuki Darusman, whose commitment to justice is
\nbeyond doubt, leading the investigation, it is uncertain whether
\nwe will see any significant progress in the near future.<\/p>\n
To ordinary people, the evidence of corruption is plain to see
\nbecause Soeharto's six children at one time controlled almost
\nevery profitable business that existed in this country, from
\nwhence they built their fortunes. But proving in court that these
\nbusinesses were illegal will be an arduous task. The businesses
\nwere legitimate, at least by the standards of the time.<\/p>\n
Tracking the former first family's wealth -- supposedly
\nstashed abroad -- will be even more difficult. With Soeharto's
\nlawyers promising to fight back in court, any trial, assuming
\nthat it would come to that point, would lead to a protracted and
\ncomplex legal wrangle, with no guarantee that the supposed loot
\nwould ever be returned to this country.<\/p>\n
The Philippines experience in recouping the Marcoses' booty
\nfrom abroad should serve as a warning. In spite of a costly
\ninvestigation lasting 13 years, Manila has managed to recover
\nonly a fraction of what is believed to have been stolen. The
\nSoeharto Investigation Part II would probably meet the same fate,
\none which would go way beyond the life of the current
\nadministration. This timeframe renders President Abdurrahman's
\npromise of clemency if Soeharto was ever found guilty in court
\npremature, if not irrelevant.<\/p>\n
To simply reopen the investigation however would be to repeat
\nthe mistake of the last administration of trivializing the
\ninjustices and suffering people in this country endured during
\nthe Soeharto regime. Such a move would create the false
\nimpression that the only thing wrong about the New Order regime
\nwere the rampant practices of corruption, collusion and nepotism.
\nThe worst part of Soeharto's tyranny were the widespread abuses
\nof power that went unchecked for more than three decades.
\nCorruption was indeed serious, but it was only a small part of
\nthat misrule.<\/p>\n
If President Abdurrahman is determined to uphold justice,
\nwhich is the foundation of a real democracy, he should launch an
\ninvestigation into Soeharto's lengthy record of power abuses.
\nSoeharto's regime was built and sustained based on abuses
\nconducted almost constantly from the day he came to power in 1966
\nto his resignation in 1998. Mystery still shrouds the
\ncircumstances surrounding his rise to power, and surrounding the
\nvarious bloody incidents that blotted the nation's history. But
\nSoeharto's ironfisted rule left a distinct legacy and profound
\ntrauma that is still felt by the nation today.<\/p>\n
This is an investigation whose time has come, but one that
\nwould be too big a task for the attorney general. It is too large
\nand complex to be pursued strictly through legal channels. It is
\nsomething that the President should take on. This is the work of
\na truth and reconciliation commission, an idea modeled on the
\npost-apartheid South Africa which Abdurrahman broached long
\nbefore he became President.<\/p>\n
Clemency for Soeharto, which seems to be Abdurrahman's
\nobsession, would certainly be the end result of such a
\ncommission. Indonesia is a forgiving, not an avenging nation. But
\nbefore we can show any forgiveness, we need to first establish
\nthe painful truths. This investigation is worth pursuing more
\nthan a wild goose chase for billions of dollars.<\/p>\n
Sooner or later, the nation must unearth its dark past and
\ncome to terms with the bitter truths which have overshadowed this
\nnation for many years. Only then can we truly march on the
\njourney toward civil society.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-investigation-ii-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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