Put Soeharto on trial

Put Soeharto on trial

From Rakyat Merdeka

I believe that any sensible Indonesian will agree that it is Soeharto who must assume the greatest responsibility for all the recent disasters to have befallen this nation. It is now close to two years since Soeharto was forced to step down by a people's movement spearheaded by university students.

Unfortunately, Soeharto has not been brought to trial. More upsetting still is that the political elite have continued to shape public opinion as if the sins committed by Soeharto were limited to corruption, collusion and nepotism. In fact, alleged corruption, collusion and nepotism are only a fraction of the crimes committed by the New Order regime. The regime's major crime lies in political and humanity areas.

If we use the law of cause and effect, we will understand that this nation has been gripped by a crisis because of the mismanagement of the New Order.

Soeharto has left many time bombs, one of which is the potential disintegration increasingly threatening national unity.

Strangely, there is no indication that Soeharto will also be brought to the court for this kind of crime. And, surprisingly, when the nation is being torn apart but is also busy trying to extricate itself from the crisis, the perpetrator of all these disasters has yet to be touched while the government is signaling that Soeharto will be pardoned. It is a great offense to the victims of the New Order regime and hurts the hearts of those with a sense of justice.

At issue now is the Bank Bali scandal; in fact the damage caused by the scandal is a mere trifle compared to the destruction wrought during Soeharto's rule.

It is why one of my friends, who is not from Jakarta, said: "Look at these Jakarta people. They have the guts only against the non-Javanese elite, who are alleged to have masterminded the Bank Bali scandal. Soeharto, who is greedier and a more wicked, will be let off."

It is why many regions are clamoring for their independence and voiced their desire to be free from Jakarta. The fact is that legal discrimination still continues.

The government should be more responsive to the popular demand that Soeharto should be tried. The government's earnestness in this respect will heal the emotional wounds of the people because Soeharto is a symbol of a repressive regime. On the other hand, if the government keeps postponing Soeharto's trial, the students will return to the streets. Of course, as professionals, my colleagues and I will support and join the students' actions like we did before. It is a matter of conscience and a sense of justice.

SUGRIWAN SOEDARMO

Jakarta