Soeharto, sensible compromise or fear?

Soeharto, sensible compromise or fear?

When I lived in Aceh province for a number of years, fear was
more than apparent. It was the very air that you breathed, and
could on occasions make the hairs on the back of your neck stand
on end.

That same fear no doubt exists in the corridors of power in
Jakarta, as they all scurry about, trying to find an excuse to
drop the legal charges against former president Soeharto. Ill
health, old age, compassion, and even a commendable pardon are
being discussed to shield past sins that admittedly remain
unproved.

The subdued and somewhat passive Megawati is rumored to be
taking the line that the nation "must" treat its leaders with
dignity, and that is indeed a statement that gives absolute
license to all of the elite that crime certainly pays. That would
be a huge mistake.

This whole problem of Soeharto revolves around two issues:
fear of retribution and fear of exposure to the masses. Both are
understandably unwelcome. The web of corruption is so large that
the spider himself has become old and sick, his knowledge of
others still his power until his dying day. With so much at
stake, the guilty want this whole affair well and truly buried,
and that may well be wise.

Most people would accept that real justice is not possible,
but compromise would solve a number of things.

DAVID WALLIS

Medan, North Sumatra