Freeze Soeharto's

Freeze Soeharto's
assets

From Rakyat Merdeka

Any formulation made by the House of Representatives (DPR)
must be in accordance with the people's wishes, which is stated
in the stipulation of the People Consultative Assembly no.
XI/MPR/1998 article no. 4 on the firm efforts to eradicate
corruption, collusion and nepotism committed by anyone, including
former president Soeharto, while maintaining the principles of
human rights and the presumption of innocence.

Referring to the essence of Law no. 3/1971 (chapters 6 and 18)
as well as Law no. 31/1999 (chapter 28) it is very clear that
every suspect or defendant must provide detailed information
about his/her wealth and properties/assets and those belonging to
their spouse, children and related persons and companies when
questioned by the investigator and the judge.

If the information given is unsatisfactory, meaning there is a
mismatch between current wealth and actual earnings, then it can
reinforce information provided by other witnesses and lead to the
conclusion that the suspect or defendant has indeed committed a
crime.

I call on the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs (Polkam) and House members to abide by the above laws,
because once Soeharto is granted an abolition - the revoking of
charges, as I understand it -- then all other corruption cases
from his era will disappear as well.

I believe an abolition would only damage the image of
president Megawati's government. Therefore I suggest that the
indictment be postponed until he is healthy enough to face a
trial, while other investigations of relevant witnesses should be
continued as, who knows, they may become prime suspects
themselves. The Attorney General's Office should initiate a civil
case in the name of the state and ask the court to freeze all of
Soeharto's assets acquired through corruption, collusion and
nepotism until such time as the case is finalized and carries
legal force.

ATILLA GRAZIANI SYAFEI

Bandung