Attotney general puts Soeharto under city arrest

JAKARTA (JP): The Attorney General's Office stepped up its corruption investigation against Soeharto on Thursday, putting him under city arrest only one day after banning the former president from leaving the country.

The ban followed President Abdurrahman Wahid's order from Cuba that Soeharto be put under house arrest.

Meanwhile, at least five people were injured when they clashed with police during a demonstration demanding the government confiscate Soeharto's property and assets.

Purnama Munthe, supervisor of the prosecuting team investigating Soeharto, told a media briefing that the travel ban was imposed in order to speed up the healing process for the ailing ex-president.

Two sessions of questioning on April 3 and April 10 at Soeharto's Jl. Cendana residence were abruptly cut short by doctors who declared him unfit to undergo further questioning, Purnama said.

The former president has been named a suspect in a multitrillion rupiah scam involving several tax-free charity foundations which he set up and chaired while in power.

Purnama said the authorities doubted that Soeharto was really unfit to answer questions, even though the claim had been made by doctors assigned to him by the government.

He recalled that prior to the questioning, the former president appeared healthy as he traveled outside Jakarta, including a visit to the grave of his late wife in Surakarta, Central Java.

He also mentioned Soeharto's presence at the wedding of his granddaughter in March.

"Soeharto sat there for hours, which was uncommon for someone who claims to be in ill health," he said.

The city arrest warrant was signed by Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Yusuf Kartanegara, and presented to Soeharto's lawyers on Thursday.

The 20-day city arrest took effect on Thursday. The travel ban is good for one year.

Director of Corruption Affairs at the Attorney General's Office Chairul Imam said the status meant that Soeharto would be dragged back by force if he tried to leave town.

Chairul said no further action was being planned. "We'll see," he said when asked about the possibility of freezing his assets.

Soeharto's lawyers condemned the warrant and the travel ban as baseless and excessive.

Doctors had advised Soeharto to take fresh air often as part of his "recreational therapy", said lawyer Mohammad Assegaf.

"They told him to frequently receive guests, to interact more with people. Such therapy would help alleviate Soeharto's eroding memory," Assegaf told journalists.

The lawyers would consider legal action against the measure, he said.

Meanwhile, about one kilometer from Soeharto's Jl. Cendana residence, police were involved in street battles with students who tried to force their way into the former president's house.

Five students were being treated at the St. Carolus Hospital on Thursday night, a doctor said.

"One had a head wound, another a gash in his hand. The other three were injured by tear gas," Dr. Gitorejo said.

All but one were later discharged.

Witnesses said there were two related clashes between students and the police: One in the streets and another when police stormed the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) building on Jl. Diponegoro to try and flush out students who had taken refuge there.

Some 300 students took part in the demonstration calling on the government to physically arrest Soeharto and to confiscate the wealth of the former president, his children and cronies.

Police, which had deployed 500 personnel, tried to negotiate with the students, asking them to disperse.

The standoff was broken as dusk fell when students pelted the cordon of police with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Police responded by firing tear gas at them, sending the protesters fleeing in all directions.

The attack on the LBH building also caused some damage.

The surrounding area remained tense later on Thursday night. Jl. Diponegoro was closed by local residents.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) meanwhile called on the government to take the medical treatment of Soeharto out of his family's hands in order to expedite the investigation.

Politician Amin Aryoso said the city arrest status of Soeharto showed that Attorney General Marzuki Darusman was serious in pursuing the investigation.

"Marzuki has been dubbed a coward. Things are not as simple as people imagine. Marzuki is not slow and he is not playing around," Amin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said.

His party colleague Dimyati Hartono disagreed, calling the city arrest warrant "a little joke".

"What good is the ban? Why doesn't the government investigate his cronies?" he asked. (01/06/09/27/asa/byg/jun/sur)