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Former dictator Suharto's health improves slightly

The health of Indonesia's former-dictator Suharto has improved slightly but the 86-year-old remains dependent on a slew of machines and in critical condition, his doctors said yesterday.

Suharto was admitted to hospital last week with anaemia and low blood pressure, as well as problems with his heart, kidneys and lungs. He slid into critical condition, and has since improved and relapsed several times.

"The condition of Suharto this morning is still weak, but he is conscious. It is better than yesterday [Tuesday]," said Marjo Soebiandono, one of the large team of doctors assembled to treat the former president.

He said the results of heart examinations on Tuesday showed that some damage had been sustained to the organ's tissue and that "a general weakening has taken place".

"The catch-22 is that the heart, the lungs and the kidneys are all weak so that bodily liquids accumulate," he told a press briefing, adding that installing a new pacemaker would allow the heart to strengthen as a first step.

Doctors have said that Suharto must stabilize before they can perform such an operation. In the meantime, the patient remained on dialysis and was continuing to receive blood transfusions, Soebiandono said.

"For the time being, he is still dependent on machines ... We hope to slowly disconnect these," he added.

Djoko Rahardjo, a urology expert, told the briefing that Suharto's bodily fluids had built up on Tuesday when he was taken off dialysis for tests on his heart, causing swelling and a general worsening in his condition.

"We tried to overcome this by taking off as much liquid as possible... Suharto's recovery is still dependent on machinery absorbing his bodily liquids and on medication," he said. "We are assessing his condition by the hour."

Rahardjo said dialysis could damage red blood cells so transfusions were being given to overcome that, but there was no internal bleeding from other causes.

Suharto held Indonesia in an iron grip for 32 years, ruthlessly crushing dissent and political opponents until bloody street riots and protests amid an economic crisis forced him to step down in 1998.

He has been accused of siphoning off billions of dollars in state assets to his family and cronies while in power, as well as trampling over human rights, particularly in areas that had restive separatist movements, such as East Timor, Aceh and Papua.

Persistent poor health over the past decade, during which he has lived largely as a recluse, meant that a criminal corruption trial against him was dropped in 2006.
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