AGO faces renewed debate over Soeharto case

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.