Soeharto free, Gus Dur KO'd?

Soeharto free, Gus Dur KO'd?

From Rakyat Mederka

After Soeharto stepped down and Habibie, his New Order
crony, succeeded him to the throne, every effort to bring
Soeharto before the court seemed to have been without success. As
proof, former attorney general Andi Ghalib, who once was given
the nickname "hen" by the students, issued an order to
discontinue a judicial investigation of Soeharto.

After Habibie fell, and Abdurrahman Wahid, or Gus Dur, became
president, the efforts to drag Soeharto to court have been time-
consuming and like a play. This has led to reduced public trust
of Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, who is valued as being
always obedient to his ancestors.

Gus Dur's efforts to drag Soeharto to court seem to be in vain
because Gus Dur has been acting alone, without the support of his
assistants and the political elite. This was obvious after Gus
Dur discharged National Police chief Rusdihardjo, and from the
statements made by Mahfud, the defense minister, saying it would
be better to forget about the Soeharto case. One Soeharto
supporter, after judge Lalu Mariyun dismissed all charges against
Soeharto, even dared say: "I am ready to die for the sake of
defending Soeharto."

I do not think Soeharto's children or his cronies will be
saved from the courts. For instance, Tommy has been sentenced to
18 months in jail, and Ratna Gusti Ayu has been charged in a
drugs case. Bob Hasan and Syahril Sabirin are currently being
scrutinized by the courts. Tutut and Soeharto's cronies that have
never been brought to court will not be exempt from legal action.

Soeharto's being freed from all charges is a boomerang for Gus
Dur, as it means Gus Dur is unable to meet the reform message as
set forth in the decree of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) on the elimination of corruption, collusion and nepotism
involving Soeharto and his cronies. It is feared that Amien Rais
will be able to drag Gus Dur before a MPR special session in due
course. And if this happens, Soeharto's freedom will lead to Gus
Dur being forced to step down.

E. SUHERMAN

Bandung