Tommy's arrest: Its possible implications

J. Soedjati Djiwandono, Political Analyst, Jakarta

"Certain political groupings seem to have tried to take advantage of the whole episode, from the beginning of the process of his (Tommy's) trial, his brief imprisonment, his two meetings with the then president Abdurrahman Wahid, his escape, his disappearance for a little more than a year, and his final arrest."

Perhaps I am just engaging myself in conspiratorial thinking this time, but there's no other way of understanding or explaining the possible political implications of the arrest of Tommy Soeharto. It is an intriguing phenomenon. And for many people, particularly the police, it seems to have been a cause of pride and excitement, and a sense of success and achievement.

That's understandable. Under the current circumstances, characterized by a general feeling of helplessness and frustration in society, not only the police, but also the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri as well as the people at large, badly need the kind of symbolism that Tommy's arrest represents. Yet it is interesting, though baffling, the polite and respectable way in which even the Jakarta Police Chief has treated Tommy, using the sort of language in referring to Tommy, a convict, that suggests he is still the youngest son of a president.

However, at the risk of being hated, or at least misunderstood and resented by many unthinking people, I must admit to feeling cynical about the whole episode. Worse still, I feel a little sympathy for Tommy.

Admittedly, he has been a convict and a fugitive. He may have been proven a criminal, cruel and corrupt, and now even suspected of being a terrorist and murderer. Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel that Tommy has been exploited.

Certain political groupings seem to have tried to take advantage of the whole episode, from the beginning of the process of his trial, his brief imprisonment, his two meetings with the then president Abdurrahman Wahid, his escape, his disappearance for a little more than a year, and his final arrest.

Lawyers have been engaged in endless debates over the propriety of the Supreme Court's decision, following Tommy's request for a review of his case, to reverse the judgment of the court that had tried and sentenced him to imprisonment, thereby setting him free, even though he remained in hiding until his final arrest.

He is liable to other accusations of illegal possession of firearms and even of being involved in the murder of Supreme Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita.

Legislators from the Commission in charge of legal affairs went to the Metropolitan Police headquarters, where Tommy was taken following his arrest, to verify whether Tommy had surrendered to the police or had been arrested. To a layperson like this writer, as far as legal matters are concerned, ignorant of legal niceties, this was just a joke, and in very bad taste. I simply could not grasp the essential difference and thus its real significance and relevance.

Faced with a group of armed policemen, most probably pointing their guns at him, he had probably said, "I surrender", meaning, "I won't resist". That made his arrest peaceful and easy. So literally, he both surrendered and was arrested. Legislators nowadays are inclined not only to talk much nonsense, but also tend to be, or just to appear to be, busy bodies.

As reflected in the media during the days since his arrest, after a year in hiding, public attention has been very much focused on Tommy. The excitement has been out of proportion.

And who is likely to benefit from all the fuss and excitement? They are likely to be corrupt people in high positions and all those having mutually beneficial connections with those holding power. They can continue to enjoy their good, though corrupt, lives in peace -- at least for the time being -- hiding themselves behind politically powerful high positions, untouched by the law, while the public's attention is distracted by the Tommy saga.

It is here that I sympathize with him. I don't mean to say that he is innocent and that he is a sort of "sacrificed lamb".

There must be others who may be no less, if not even more corrupt, and yet they remain free, beyond the reach of the law because of their relations with those holding political power. Tommy's father, a former president and dictator, is no more than a bird with clipped wings.

I fear even more the possibility that the whole saga of not only Tommy but also of the Soeharto family may mean a setback for the already slow and in some respects misdirected process of reform. And sadly, in the end it may well mean greater suffering for the people.