Attorney general to submit Soeharto report next month

JAKARTA (JP): Acting Attorney General Ismudjoko said on Thursday his office would submit the final report on its probe on the corruption, collusion and nepotism allegations against Soeharto to President B.J. Habibie by the end of September.

"By the end of September, we will submit the final result... to the President, as stated in the Presidential Instruction 30/1998 on the investigation of the case," Ismudjoko said as quoted by Antara.

Habibie will use the report in his speech of accountability before the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Ismudjoko said his office encountered difficulty in gathering evidence and securing witnesses, including expert witnesses, who would testify against the former president.

He noted that naming someone a suspect in a corruption case needed witnesses and evidence, apart from a statement from the suspect, according to the Criminal Code.

"Until now, we do not have enough material to name Soeharto as a suspect," he added.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Soehandoyo, said the "Team of 13" led by the deputy attorney general for special crimes, Ramelan, was investigating Soeharto over corruption allegations involving the seven foundations he formerly headed and the Timor national car project.

The foundations are Dharmais, Dakab, Supersemar, Trikora, Gotong Royong, Amal Bhakti Muslim Pancasila and Dana Sejahtera Mandiri.

"Next month, the Team of 13 will call several expert witnesses and the head of the financial department of the Jakarta administration," Soehandoyo added.

He said the Attorney General's Office would continue the probe if there was sufficient evidence stated in the final report.

"But if there is not enough evidence, the investigation of Soeharto will be stopped," he said as quoted by Antara.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Abdurrahman Wahid reiterated that a political solution to the Soeharto question using Islamic laws would be a suitable compromise to safeguard the interests of the majority of the people.

"Let's give a chance to this compromise because we have not been able to resort to legal formal solutions," Abdurrahman, who is also known as Gus Dur, told a discussion on the issue here on Thursday.

Other speakers included Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus, former deputy attorney general on intelligence affairs Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsu Djalal and lawyer Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara.

"If we keep on pushing for formal legal solutions, Soeharto will end up being acquitted," Abdurrahman said, citing similar cases concerning former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and Reza Pahlevi, the deposed shah of Iran.

"This compromise (would help) secure the return of the fortune that is suspected to be the results of corruption," he added.

Syamsu Djalal and Yunus insisted that legal solutions must still be sought.

Abdul Hakim supported Abdurrahman's proposal, saying it was an effort to overcome the shortcomings of legal procedures. (swe)