AGO faces renewed debate over Soeharto case
Tony Hotland and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surakarta
Apparently exhausted over pressure to bring the country's former authoritarian leader Soeharto to court over corruption allegations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Monday that the matter was now in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Caught between a medical statement claiming that Soeharto has permanent brain damage, and a Supreme Court order for the AGO to allow the former strongman to "completely recover" his health before bringing him to court, Attorney General Abdul Rahman gave up and asked the Supreme Court to take back the lead in the case, which has been suspended for years.
"A team of doctors have said Soeharto suffers from permanent brain damage. Yet, we're stuck with this Supreme Court order to treat him until he's recovered. So, it's the Supreme Court who should take the lead now ... is the order still effective or what?" he told a hearing with House of Representatives Commission III on security and legal affairs.
The AGO has been under heavy public pressure to bring the former president, now 84, to court on charges of massive corruption and gross human rights violations during his 32-year "New Order" regime.
The AGO has said that nothing can feasibly be done to assist with Soeharto's medical recovery, despite him frequently being seen in public physically fit and interacting in conversations.
His outdoor activities include frequent visits to friends in hospital, and to the Nusa Kambangan maximum security penitentiary where his infamous son Tommy Soeharto is incarcerated for murdering the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
"If we put Soeharto on trial, the doctors say he may be able to answer the first two or three easy questions, but not those that require logic or heavy memory retrieval about numbers or dates. They said his brain would hang," Abdul Rahman said.
Several months ago, the powerful Golkar Party, which was founded by Soeharto and used as his personal political machine during his 32-years in power, suggested the idea of pardoning Soeharto due to his condition. The idea met with harsh public criticism.
The issue of how the country should deal with Soeharto reemerged after Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also the current chairman of Golkar, hinted that the party might propose for the annulment of the 1998 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree that explicitly stipulates legal moves against graft cases including those involving Soeharto.
"Some six months ago, his family sought to lift the travel ban Soeharto him on the basis that they thought it would be improper if he passed away under a travel ban status," Abdul Rahman said.
In Surakarta, House deputy speaker Zaenal Ma'arif said the President should have the AGO issue a decision to put any investigation to a stop, and for the People's Consultative Assembly to revoke its decree on Soeharto.
"This is to give a clear status to him and his family. Now, it's like they're under siege with a legal status that seems to never end. It's not proper for this battle to continue until he passes away," he said.
Besides, Zaenal claimed, Soeharto also brought many benefits and significant progress to Indonesia during his term.