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