Former president Soeharto hospitalized

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former president Soeharto has been admitted to a hospital, but one of his lawyers said his condition was not serious.

Lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon said Soeharto was admitted to Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta on Thursday morning.

"His illness has not been clearly identified yet. When I visited him on Thursday, he was lying down in bed, looking weak, and he talked little," the lawyer told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Another Soeharto lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, was quoted by AFP as saying the former strongman was hospitalized after tests showed he was anemic.

"His condition is not bad, he has a low hemoglobin count," he said.

The 83-year-old Soeharto is being treated on the sixth floor of the hospital, Antara news agency quoted a staff member at the hospital as saying.

The staff member, who asked not to be identified, declined to provide any information on the condition of the former president, saying Soeharto's doctors might release an official statement on Monday.

Soeharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron grip for 32 years until 1998, escaped trial for alleged corruption on health grounds. His lawyers offered medical evidence that Soeharto could no longer hold or follow simple conversations.

In the past, Soeharto has been hospitalized for strokes, intestinal bleeding and heart problems.

The former general has lived quietly at his private residence in Central Jakarta since being forced to resign amid economic and political upheaval.

Newspapers reported last month that Soeharto appeared quite healthy and walked unaided while attending an anniversary celebration for the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah theme park founded by his late wife.