Soeharto Investigation II

Soeharto Investigation II

The government's decision to reopen the corruption
investigation against former president Soeharto, while laudable,
has led to concerns about whether it can succeed where the
previous administration failed. The last investigation, aside
from its many shortcomings, including a lack of political will to
try Soeharto, virtually exhausted all legal channels to build any
convincing case of corruption against the former tyrant.

That investigation came up short on any evidence of
significant wealth that was supposed to have been amassed by
Soeharto and his family during his 32-year reign. It also failed
to come up with any proof of corruption, which in legal terms
means misusing one's position to enrich oneself or others.

Will a new investigation, as ordered by President Abdurrahman
Wahid, make any headway? Even with political will and with new
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, whose commitment to justice is
beyond doubt, leading the investigation, it is uncertain whether
we will see any significant progress in the near future.

To ordinary people, the evidence of corruption is plain to see
because Soeharto's six children at one time controlled almost
every profitable business that existed in this country, from
whence they built their fortunes. But proving in court that these
businesses were illegal will be an arduous task. The businesses
were legitimate, at least by the standards of the time.

Tracking the former first family's wealth -- supposedly
stashed abroad -- will be even more difficult. With Soeharto's
lawyers promising to fight back in court, any trial, assuming
that it would come to that point, would lead to a protracted and
complex legal wrangle, with no guarantee that the supposed loot
would ever be returned to this country.

The Philippines experience in recouping the Marcoses' booty
from abroad should serve as a warning. In spite of a costly
investigation lasting 13 years, Manila has managed to recover
only a fraction of what is believed to have been stolen. The
Soeharto Investigation Part II would probably meet the same fate,
one which would go way beyond the life of the current
administration. This timeframe renders President Abdurrahman's
promise of clemency if Soeharto was ever found guilty in court
premature, if not irrelevant.

To simply reopen the investigation however would be to repeat
the mistake of the last administration of trivializing the
injustices and suffering people in this country endured during
the Soeharto regime. Such a move would create the false
impression that the only thing wrong about the New Order regime
were the rampant practices of corruption, collusion and nepotism.
The worst part of Soeharto's tyranny were the widespread abuses
of power that went unchecked for more than three decades.
Corruption was indeed serious, but it was only a small part of
that misrule.

If President Abdurrahman is determined to uphold justice,
which is the foundation of a real democracy, he should launch an
investigation into Soeharto's lengthy record of power abuses.
Soeharto's regime was built and sustained based on abuses
conducted almost constantly from the day he came to power in 1966
to his resignation in 1998. Mystery still shrouds the
circumstances surrounding his rise to power, and surrounding the
various bloody incidents that blotted the nation's history. But
Soeharto's ironfisted rule left a distinct legacy and profound
trauma that is still felt by the nation today.

This is an investigation whose time has come, but one that
would be too big a task for the attorney general. It is too large
and complex to be pursued strictly through legal channels. It is
something that the President should take on. This is the work of
a truth and reconciliation commission, an idea modeled on the
post-apartheid South Africa which Abdurrahman broached long
before he became President.

Clemency for Soeharto, which seems to be Abdurrahman's
obsession, would certainly be the end result of such a
commission. Indonesia is a forgiving, not an avenging nation. But
before we can show any forgiveness, we need to first establish
the painful truths. This investigation is worth pursuing more
than a wild goose chase for billions of dollars.

Sooner or later, the nation must unearth its dark past and
come to terms with the bitter truths which have overshadowed this
nation for many years. Only then can we truly march on the
journey toward civil society.