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Suharto may face new corruption charges

Two students perform during a protest rally against former Indonesian president Suharto in front of the state palace in Jakarta yesterday. Dozens of protesters urged the Indonesian government not to drop a corruption case against the ailing Suharto. PHOTO: EPA

Indonesia's anti-corruption agency said yesterday it might bring former dictator Suharto to trial on graft charges, as students rallied across the nation demanding the hospitalized ex-leader face justice for alleged human rights crimes and corruption.

A doctor treating Suharto said he was no longer receiving blood transfusions following surgery two weeks ago for intestinal bleeding, but that the 84-year-old remained in an "unstable" condition.

Suharto was ousted after 32 years in power in May 1998 amid riots and student protests across Indonesia.

The US-backed regime is generally regarded as among the most corrupt and brutal in recent history, but he has never faced trial.

Last week, the country's attorney general dropped long-standing corruption charges against Suharto, saying he was too ill to stand trial.

The government's anti-corruption agency, which has the power to investigate and prosecute graft allegations, said it might try and bring Suharto to trial on fresh graft charges in absentia, given his poor health.

"There is a possible breakthrough," Erry Harjapamengkas, deputy head of the agency, said. "But we have to see whether the evidence can be easily and quickly obtained."

The move by the attorney general to drop the case angered anti-graft and human rights activists, but was welcomed by his supporters, many of whom still occupy powerful positions.

Yesterday, small groups of students rallied in at least seven Indonesian cities, media reports and witnesses said. In Yogyakarta on Java, several dozen protesters held up banners saying "Suharto, the mastermind of the massacres in the country" and "He is the killer of the people."

Suharto, who denies stealing any money from the country, has been hospitalized at least four times since his ouster, and has suffered a series of small strokes that doctors say have affected his memory and speech.

Aside from intestinal bleeding, doctors currently treating Suharto also say some of his vital organs are weakening, and have described his condition as "critical."

"His health is still fluctuating," presidential doctor Adji Suprajitno told reporters yesterday. "It is still too soon to say he is getting better."

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Suharto's downfall.

Critics say he, his family and a small elite became fantastically rich during the regime due to corrupt business deals, often with multinational companies.

They also say Suharto should be charged in connection with at least 500,000 political killings during his regime, as well the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the separatist regions of Papua, Aceh and East Timor, now an independent country.

But official history books largely gloss over the atrocities, and many Indonesians remember his rule for rapid economic growth, stability and cheap rice and feel that he should be allowed to live out the remainder of his life without disturbance.
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