Ex-official ready to be questioned on Soeharto link

JAKARTA (JP): Former vice Cabinet secretary Bambang Kesowo, who was named by former president Soeharto as a person who knew much about his past policies, said on Thursday that he was ready to be questioned by the Attorney General's Office.

Bambang said that Soeharto mentioned his name because he processed all presidential decrees or instructions signed by Soeharto during the last few years of his rule, including his instructions on the national car program.

Bambang said that his office was only authorized to handle the legal aspects of a policy, while the policies themselves were entirely formulated by the related ministries.

"I will reveal everything. I do not want to cover up anything. I am ready to be questioned," Bambang told journalists at the State Secretariat.

Soeharto told prosecutors on Wednesday that Bambang was among the government officials who knew the details of his past decisions, because Bambang was responsible for all legal matters at the State Secretariat.

The Attorney General's Office said that Bambang would be questioned on Friday. However, Bambang claimed he had not yet received a summons.

In the meantime, former state minister of environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja reminded former ministers who served during Soeharto's regime that they were also partly responsible for the rampant corruption, collusion and nepotism that occurred during Soeharto's tenure.

"As far as I know, many of my former colleagues in the cabinet liked to make reports which were intended solely to make him happy," Sarwono said during a visit to Bandung, West Java.

Satjipto Rahardjo, professor of law at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, urged the government not to hesitate to bring Soeharto to trial, to prove to the public the sincerity of President B.J. Habibie's promise to enforce the law.

"It is not revenge. We are just very angry with the injustices, and we channel our anger through the legal process," Satjipto said.

In Yogyakarta, Soeharto's former aide, M. Sadli, said the questioning of the former president was not enough to restore people's confidence in the government.

"I doubt the move will restore people's confidence... he was not examined as a suspect," Sadli said after giving a lecture at Gadjah Mada University.

Sadli -- twice a minister under Soeharto from 1971 to 1978 -- said prosecuting Soeharto's alleged corruption would be difficult under the current legal system.

The senior economist said that unless a "reverse prosecution" method -- in which a person has to prove to the state that his or her wealth was not illegally obtained -- is in place, the probe into Soeharto's alleged crimes would be time-consuming.

"(Under the present legal principle of presumption of innocence), it would be very difficult for a state prosecutor to prove that there had been corruption, collusion and nepotism," he said.

Separately, around 500 students in the East Java capital of Surabaya staged a "people's court" to try Soeharto.

Calling themselves the Indonesian People's Struggle Front, the students threatened to apply their own justice if Soeharto was not convicted. They did not elaborate on what they meant by "their own justice".

The students opened their court session in Bungkul city park on Jl. Raya Darmo, complete with judges, prosecutors, a judges' chamber and a sound system to broadcast the "trial".

Some of the students acted as members of the Armed Forces, guarding the proceedings, while the rest served as spectators to the "trial" of Soeharto and his cronies.

The show -- which drew a large audience -- ended peacefully, although scores of security personnel were kept busy managing traffic congestion. Statements distributed during the protest urged the government to act quickly and to be transparent in examining Soeharto's alleged crimes. "If not, the students will move. We want justice," the statements said.

In Jakarta, Secretary-General of the National Commission on Human Rights Clementino dos Reis Amaral said that Soeharto must be held accountable for his alleged abuse of power and human rights violations. "(Soeharto's) corruption is a bit difficult to prove," Amaral said, as quoted by SCTV. (23/nur/43/aan/har/prb)