Golkar wants house arrest for Soeharto
JAKARTA (JP): The ruling Golkar group has joined the bandwagon of calls to make sure that its former patron and main sponsor, former president Soeharto is the subject of a corruption investigation.
Marzuki Darusman, the chairman of the Golkar faction in the House of Representatives, asked for Soeharto to be placed under house arrest during a media conference on Saturday.
Marzuki was accompanied by senior Golkar figures, including secretary-general Tuswandi, deputy chairman Aulia Rachman and legislators Rully Chairul Azwar, Bomer Pasaribu and Slamet Effendy Yusuf.
However Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung, in his capacity as Minister/State Secretary, said separately on Saturday that the government has no plans to impose a travel ban on former president Soeharto and his family.
On Tuesday, Amien Rais, the chairman of the National Mandate Party, first raised the idea of placing Soeharto under city arrest in response to the new decree on clean governance adopted by the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly on Nov. 13.
The decree states that officials, their families, cronies and private parties should be the subjects of thorough corruption investigations based on the presumption of innocence. Former president Soeharto is mentioned by name in the decree.
"There are still no plans with regards to former president Soeharto, except that we intend to set up a commission (to investigate Soeharto's fortune)," Akbar said after meeting with President B.J. Habibie and six other ministers.
Reiterating a plan revealed on Thursday by Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and State Administrative Reform Hartarto Sastrosoenarto, Akbar said that Habibie intends to establish a special commission made up of respected figures and government officials to investigate the former president.
Hartarto said the "independent" team would work separately from the government-appointed team led by Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib.
Meanwhile Marzuki insisted that the government should restrict Soeharto's movements to prove that it is serious in carrying out the instructions of the Assembly and investigate Soeharto.
"It should place former president Soeharto under house arrest," Marzuki said, adding that this would also help to appease growing public anger directed at the former president.
Students have attempted to march to Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta on a number of occasions over the past few days and have demanded an investigation into corruption and human rights abuse during his 32-year rule.
Since resigning on May 21, aides have said that Soeharto has remained in Jakarta, either at his Central Jakarta residence on Jl. Cendana or at his mansion in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta. A source said on Friday that Soeharto was anxious to visit the his wife's grave in Surakarta, Central Java, but had been prevented from doing so by security concerns.
The source revealed that student demonstrations near his house had left Soeharto feeling uneasy regarding his neighbors. "It's even difficult for him to go to the mosque now," the source said.
On Friday, a Golkar legislator called for funds totaling Rp 836.2 billion held by the Soeharto-controlled Dakab foundation to be handed over to the state. The foundation was set up in 1985 to finance Golkar's social activities.
Meanwhile Akbar confirmed that Habibie met five retired generals last week, including former vice president Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno and former Armed Forces (ABRI) chief and minister of defense Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat. The President had explained to them his reform program and asked for their support.
The meeting took place Thursday night after the three had paid their last respects to Lt. Gen. (ret) Soeweno, a former chief of Army Reserve Strategic Command who died earlier that morning.
Akbar said Try expressed his "appreciation" of the reform program and laughed when asked what Edi's response had been. Edi is a member of the National Front, a group of vociferous government critics. Two members of the group have been questioned by the police and could face charges of treason.
Habibie also received three more members of the National Front at his residence in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Thursday evening.
The three -- the former head of ABRI's Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais) Lt. Gen. Arie Sudewo, Maj. Gen. (ret) Nugroho and Maj. Gen. (ret) Sukarno -- "updated (Habibie) on the situation in the country," Akbar said. (prb/imn)