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