Soeharto's maneuver
Soeharto's maneuver
As if to challenge his critics, Soeharto (this week) visited
the National Police Headquarters to press charges against Time
magazine, which he considered to have defamed him. As is commonly
known, this reputable international news magazine in its late May
edition presented its readers with a report on the alleged
business empire of Soeharto, his family and his cronies.
Soeharto had earlier visited the Attorney General's Office to
present it with a mandate to investigate Time's report that not
long after the former president's downfall, about Rp 120 trillion
(US$15 billion), belonging to Soeharto, his family, and/or his
cronies, was transferred from one country to another.
The question is, does our judiciary have the fortitude to try
Soeharto's case against Time now -- that is, before he is
prosecuted for corruption, as mandated by the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. XII, 1998? This whole case
is too delicate to be taken to court immediately, given the fact
that its political dimensions far outweigh the legal ones.
Two options are open to the government, or in this case the
Attorney General's Office. First, it could investigate the data
presented by the Time report as part of the efforts to gather
information to back the investigation of corruption charges
against Soeharto. Second, it could follow the procedure common in
cases involving the press -- that is, it could give Time the
opportunity to properly reply to Soeharto's charges (of
defamation).
To judge by the developments, it appears that both sides in
the dispute are resolved to stand by their claims and reject any
suggestion of apologizing or paying compensation. Provided that
it is handled correctly, this particular process could make a
valuable contribution in the context of bringing about total
reform as demanded by the people. On the other hand, if it is
handled according to the pace and tradition common in Indonesian
legal practice so far, the whole thing would only become yet
another farce.
-- Republika, Jakarta