Soeharto trial may be delayed indefinitely

Soeharto trial may be delayed indefinitely

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An announcement by doctors that former president Soeharto is
still unable to communicate properly will likely further delay
his prosecution, which has already been postponed for two years.

"His physical condition is good but his language ability is
poor," Dr. Akhmal Taher, who led an independent team of 20
doctors from the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Soeharto's
examination, told a media conference on Monday.

He said that Soeharto suffered from aphasia, the total or
partial loss of the ability to use and understand words.

"The patient is incapable of putting more than four words
together and could not understand long sentences," Dr. Akhmal
said, referring to the 81-year-old father of convict Hutomo
"Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Soeharto, he said, could also read slowly but had difficulty
understanding complex sentences.

He claimed Soeharto had suffered "permanent brain damage due
to his previous medical history of strokes", which limited his
ability to communicate with others. Soeharto suffered two minor
strokes after resigning the presidency in 1998.

However, he acknowledged Soeharto was currently in a stable
condition. He has been fitted with a pacemaker.

"We aren't making any recommendations to the prosecutors; we
simply revealed our findings," Dr. Akhmal said.

Prosecutors requested the team examine Soeharto following
media reports that he was seen walking unaided and chatting with
guests at his granddaughter's wedding reception in Jakarta in
May.

During a media conference on Monday, prosecutor Y.W. Mere
indicated that Soeharto would not be brought before the court due
to his state of health.

"A defendant must be able to communicate and understand
(questions) to defend himself," Mere said.

Soeharto stands accused of misappropriating some US$ 571
million from the state through a number of charities during his
presidency. Corruption was common in Indonesia during his 32-
year in power.

Many said that the economic crisis that hit the country in
1997 was partly due to rampant corruption here.

Soeharto avoided his first trial at the South Jakarta District
Court in September, 2000, for health reasons. In the same year, a
team of doctors established by the government declared him
physically and mentally unfit to stand trial for corruption.

In 2001, he also underwent a medical examination at the orders
of the Attorney General's Office after the Supreme Court ordered
the office to give him medical treatment at the state's expense
so that he could be tried.