Suharto on trial

Suharto on trial

Having run its course, will Mr. Suharto's trial really restore some semblance of credibility to one of the most notoriously corrupt governments and judiciaries in Asia? President Abdurrahman Wahid is struggling in Indonesia's treacherous political waters. He has neither displaced Mr. Suharto's former ruling Golkar Party nor solidified his own political base. No doubt he hopes the trial will help shore up his support, but it could just as easily destabilize the situation.

Moreover, the trial scratches only the surface of Mr. Suharto's alleged corruption by focusing on $570 million he is alleged to have extorted from state-owned enterprises through seven charitable foundations he controlled. These monies were diverted into funding the businesses of his children and cronies, according to prosecutors. But they could prove a fraction of the Suharto family's fortune, estimated to be more than $15 billion.

Thus, in a nation divided by the old government and the new, by reformers and those who yearn for the status quo, Mr. Wahid is trying to retain a very precarious balance. In doing so, he has pledged to pardon Mr. Suharto for his crimes -- on condition he first stand trial.

So it seems certain that even a conviction on charges of corruption will not assuage the anger of many Indonesians, who say the trial ignores the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by Mr. Suharto and his military regime. In fact it may whet their appetite for a wider accounting, which could then devolve into a quest for revenge.

At this point in time, it seems premature to compare Indonesia with other nations which have tried to make the transition from dictatorship to democracy. Its challenge is more complicated than, say, South Korea's or South Africa's, both of which had clearer alternatives to past regimes and much stronger and more democratic institutions on which to base their respective searches for truth and justice.

Indonesians no doubt hope that Mr. Suharto's trial will be fair and will uncover some truths, however painful. It will be a success if it leads to a much deeper and more peaceful debate in which Indonesians ponder how their quest for justice will shape the creation of stable and democratic institutions.

-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong