Fate and fortunes

Fate and fortunes

Besieged in his home city, the sick and frail old man who once
ruled Indonesia like a personal fiefdom is experiencing the fate
that befalls so many despots once they are overthrown.

It is not certain whether the 79-year-old former president
Soeharto can hear the calls of militant students who surround his
house and bay for a hanging. But he cannot fail to be aware of
the public clamor to bring him to justice for alleged corruption.

Life would be quieter if authorities do decide, as they are
considering, to take him into safe custody and conduct
questioning in a less-hostile atmosphere. And peace may return to
the Jakarta streets once protesters are convinced that although
it has acted with exasperating slowness the attorney-general's
office is sincere about pursuing the case.

With their father's backing, it was the Soeharto children who
creamed off so much of the country's wealth as the nation
accumulated heavy foreign debt. Their combined fortune is reputed
to be somewhere in the region of U.S.$15 billion. Comparatively
little of the proceeds from seven dubious charitable foundations
backed by Mr. Soeharto seems to have remained in his hands, but
it may be difficult to find where all of it is hidden.

If the family's property and assets had been sequestered
immediately after Mr. Soeharto's fall in May 1998 the process
would be much simpler. At this stage, tracing the network of oil
holdings, bank accounts and property secreted away in various
parts of the world promises to be a Herculean task. Already a New
Zealand ranch owned by one of his children has been sold for a
nominal sum.

Belatedly, the Government seems determined to recover the
money and bring Mr. Soeharto to court in August. But it is his
children who should answer to their countrymen over their illicit
fortunes. If their wealth can be returned to the people, justice
will have been seen to be done.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong