Stop denouncing Soeharto, Cendana lawyer says
JAKARTA (JP): A lawyer representing Soeharto called on the government and the National Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday to provide protection for the former president against slanderous and humiliating remarks.
Johannes Yacob of the Cendana Consultancy Team (TKC), Soeharto's legal advisory group, said that defamatory remarks against the former president could prejudice public opinion and impinge on Soeharto's legal rights.
"The Cendana Consultancy Team has noted that President B.J. Habibie, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and several public figures have told the people to stop slandering Pak Harto" but such remarks have continued, he said.
He requested the President, Wiranto and the commission to take "necessary action", adding that Soeharto was now a common citizen with rights to legal protection.
Soeharto appeared on private-run Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI) last Sunday to deny allegations that he had a personal fortune of US$100 billion overseas and Rp 200 trillion ($18 billion) at home.
"We all have observed during his 32 years in power that Pak Harto brought lots of development despite his wrongdoings," Yacob said.
He further argued that the public should remember that the Attorney General's Office was already investigating Soeharto's personal wealth and that Indonesians had forgiven other past political leaders for their mistakes.
"We have also noted that the nation forgave Sukarno for all his mistakes in the past."
Yacob, hired by Soeharto after his resignation last May, said the former president would hold a news conference to elaborate on his recent televised denial that he was a multi-billionaire.
"I don't know whether this will be before or after the Attorney General's Office comes out with its investigation results," he said.
He dismissed the possibility of filing lawsuits against the mass media for quoting defamatory remarks about Soeharto.
Meanwhile, 100 students of private-run National University demonstrated outside the Attorney General's Office on Wednesday, demanding Soeharto answer allegations of amassing billions of dollars while in power.
They also called on Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib to resign from his post.
Ghalib was widely criticized for saying earlier this week that he trusted Soeharto's televised statement because "he is a former president."
On Wednesday, Ghalib said that Soeharto's denial about amassing wealth should still be accepted until there are parties who can prove otherwise.
"For the time being, we trust Soeharto's statement until there are parties who can find facts or data which say otherwise," he said. (imn/byg)