Soeharto still beyond the law
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
The country will mark on Friday the sixth anniversary of president Soeharto's resignation -- and the failure to bring him to court for his alleged involvement in a number of graft cases.
Legal observers say the whole nation is responsible for the inability of the country's legal system to touch Soeharto.
Frans Hendra Winarta of the National Law Commission and Hendardi from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association blamed the reform movement for the failure.
"The reform movement had a false start because Soeharto's successor was B.J. Habibie, who was a close aide of Soeharto," Hendardi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Habibie, he said, paved the way for compromise between reform leaders and members of the status quo camp.
Winarta said that compromises between the reform movement and the status quo affected the struggle for a genuine democratic government, turning it into an aristocratic government.
He said this aristocratic government was marked by the unwillingness of those in power to bring people close to them to court for violating the law.
"The law enforcers have never been serious about upholding justice because of the collusion and compromises," he told the Post.
Soeharto, 82, has not stood trial despite being charged in a US$500 million scam because of poor health. A medical team appointed by the Attorney General's Office ruled the former president was unfit to stand trial.
The long-time ruler is accused of enriching himself, his family and cronies by laundering state funds through dozens of tax-free foundations.
A team of doctors from Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital ruled in August 2002 that Soeharto had suffered permanent brain damage from several minor strokes.
The doctors said that because of his brain damage, Soeharto had totally or partially lost the ability to use and understand words.
Soeharto's lawyers have suggested that the case against their client be closed because of his health problems. The former president was hospitalized earlier this month for a week due to intestinal bleeding.
Many other former New Order officials have used illnesses to escape legal steps against them.
In February, an official from the Attorney General's Office said the office would reexamine Soeharto's case. But no steps have been taken since this announcement.
Both Winarta and Hendardi doubted that whoever won the upcoming presidential election would take steps to see the former strongman brought to court.
"Because the president will face a strong challenge from the status quo, I think he or she will have to compromise to save their presidency," Hendardi said.
None of the six presidential candidates have made a legal settlement of Soeharto's case part of their platforms.
Meanwhile, Winarta said he hoped the newly elected government would lead the nation to a peaceful transition, which would create the political climate necessary for improved elections in 2009.