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.