JP/4/harto

JP/4/harto

Golkar discusses Soeharto's legal status

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The Golkar Party is discussing whether to demand the corruption
charges against former president and party leader Soeharto be
dropped, or that the case should proceed to court.

Golkar leader Burhanuddin Napitupulu said here on Thursday
that the move was to respond to Soeharto's requirement that he
would only accept the "Anugerah Bhakti Pratama" or Dedicated
Service Award from the party if it helped "clarify" his status
before the courts.

The party, which was used by Soeharto to stay in power for 32
years, has named him a recipient of the award along with 44 other
senior figures, many of them Soeharto cronies.

Burhanuddin was quoted by Antara as saying that a discussion
about Soeharto's charges was held during the three-day Golkar
national leadership meeting.

Eighty three-year-old Soeharto is a prime suspect in several
graft cases but the Attorney General's Office has never taken the
cases to court, accepting claims that he is too disabled to face
trial.

A supposedly independent team of doctors set up by the AGO,
and his defense lawyers say the former autocratic leader is too
brain damaged to properly answer lawyers' questions.

Despite this, the former president has repeatedly been seen in
public since his downfall in May 1998, looking healthy and able
to walk unaided. He also occasionally meets and apparently
converses with well-known public figures.

Soeharto was to be charged for embezzling huge amounts of
state funds to enrich himself, family and friends for 30 years.

Other recipients of the awards, conferred for services to the
party, include Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie, former state
secretary Moerdiono, former manpower minister Cosmas Batubara,
former justice minister Oetojo Oesman, former information
minister Harmoko and party figure Basyuni Suriadihardja.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who currently chairs the country's
largest party, will confer the awards before the closing of its
three-day national leadership meeting on Saturday in Jakarta.

Former Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, who is Kalla's political
opponent, and former vice president Sudharmono were not listed
among senior party figures to get the awards.

Golkar executives have argued Akbar had yet to meet the
seniority requirement. Akbar was given credit by many as the
politician who managed to rehabilitate Golkar's image with the
public during his leadership from 1999 to 2004.

Under Akbar, Golkar won 21 percent of the vote in last year's
general elections, making it again the nation's largest party.