Soeharto ready to face trial, his lawyer says
JAKARTA (JP): "Soeharto is eager to attend," Juan Felix Tampubolon, one of president Soeharto's defense lawyers, said on Tuesday to end speculation over the former ruler's presence at the initial hearing on Thursday.
Many have doubted that the 79-year-old Soeharto would attend the hearing due to his ailing health.
"However, it's up to the medical team to decide whether Soeharto is fit enough for the initial hearing or not," Juan announced at the Ministry of Agriculture in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, the venue for Soeharto's trial.
His colleague, Mohammad Assegaf, said Soeharto's latest medical examination would likely be held on Wednesday.
Both Juan and Assegaf believe the charges against their client are weak, arguing that the case is a civil one.
"Soeharto was chairman of the foundations. Who suffered losses if the foundations' statutes allowed them to give a loan to a profit-making company?" Assegaf said.
Soeharto allegedly misused some Rp 1.4 trillion and some US$416 million of public funds, donated to the seven charitable foundations he chaired.
As of Tuesday afternoon, South Jakarta District Court staffers were still preparing the venue. They had installed a raised platform in the ministry's auditorium on which to set the judges' bench, while the prosecutors' desk and dozens of wooden benches for the public have been arranged on the floor.
The rear part of the auditorium will be used as the judges' chambers, while a room right beside the auditorium will be used as a waiting room for Soeharto.
The auditorium can only accommodate about 400 people, so the seats in the "courtroom" will only be available for registered spectators and journalists.
South Jakarta Police chief Supt. Edward Aritonang said the police had assigned 400 police officers to guard the venue. More could be stationed there according to the security condition during the trial, he said.
"As a precaution, we have ordered the bomb squad to comb the venue," he said.
Aritonang said his men would also be responsible for the security of the route to the venue, while indicating that Soeharto would arrive by car accompanied by a motorcade.
The secretary-general of the Agriculture Ministry, Nelson Hutabarat, separately said that his office would not declare Thursday a holiday, but would order employees to arrive at work earlier that day.
Separately, Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had ordered the National Police to take necessary action to prevent physical clashes during the trial.
"No concentration of people near the venue is allowed. Rallies will only be allowed at spots determined by the police," Susilo announced after a coordination meeting on political and security issues on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, about 150 protesters of the East Timor Seroja integration fighters organization and dozens of activists of the People's Movement Against Marzuki (GERAM) staged a rally outside the Attorney General's Office compound, demanding Attorney General Marzuki Darusman cancel Soeharto's trial, which they consider defamatory toward a national hero. (bby/dja)