With just eight days before Indonesia's special assembly is to choose a new head of state, the country's president, B.J. Habibie, yesterday angered political reformers and raised fears of new students protests when he dropped a corruption investigation into ex-president Suharto and then announced his support of General Wiranto to be his vice president.
The decision to let Suharto off the hook immediately drew criticism within Indonesia and abroad.
Habibie, Suharto's one-time proteg?, promised to crack down on corruption after he took power 16 months ago. He repeatedly denied accusations that he would protect his old boss, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years.
PHOTO: AP
"There is not sufficient evidence to continue the investigation," Ismudjoko, Indonesia's acting attorney general, said at a news conference after presenting his report on the probe to Habibie.
Habibie, who is fighting to stay in the office he inherited from Suharto, did not immediately comment on the decision.
According to a poll released yesterday in Jakarta's leading daily, Kompas, Habibie trails in fourth place as most popular candidate for the presidency behind favorite, Megawati Sukarnoputri, Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid and the chairman of the country's independent commission on human rights, Marzuki Darusman, who is also deputy chairman of Habibie's ruling Golkar party.
The decision to let Suharto off the hook is seen as further damaging Habibie's chances of staying in power on Oct. 20, when the 700-member People's Consultative Assembly chooses the next leader.
Today, Habibie's Golkar Party is to announce whether it will continue to back him as its sole candidate for the presidency.
"Politically, this is a major factor. It could damage Habibie's candidacy," said Marzuki Darusman, who heads an anti-Habibie faction within Golkar.
Reformers condemned the decision and warned that the world's fourth most populous nation should brace itself for more trouble on the streets.
"The people are going to be angry that Suharto has been let off," said Hendardi, who heads the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation. Like many Indonesians, he only uses one name.
"We expected this. No one in this country is brave enough to put Suharto on trial," said Tenten Masduki, of the Indonesian Corruption Watch, an anti-graft group.
Suharto, 78, has been accused of siphoning millions of dollars of public funds through charity foundations during his 32 years of autocratic rule.
The former president, who was recently treated in a Jakarta hospital after suffering a stroke, has denied any wrongdoing. He also rejected accusations that his family has stashed away a fortune in foreign bank accounts.
Despite criticism over the Suharto affair, Habibie remained defiant yesterday, vowing not to step back from his bid for re-election, but admitting he needed the help of the military to secure power. In an interview with Tempo weekly magazine -- an opposition magazine shut down under Suharto and re-launched upon his demise -- Habibie said military chief General Wiranto is well-suited to be vice president, citing the commander's ethnic background as the main reason.
"If the president is not Java-nese, then the vice president must be a Javanese," Habibie said. Habibie is from Sulawesi island.
Ethnic Javanese are easily the largest among some 300 ethnic groups across the vast archipelago.
Habibie added that he personally prefers a military person for the post. "And for the time being, I personally think that the military must escort me," he said.
The military is needed to maintain the unity of Indonesia, Habibie said. "So for this, it is not just Wiranto, but to whoever has been a commander for Indonesia's military," he said.
Habibie took office because he was vice-president when Suharto stepped down last year. His predecessor as vice-president, Try Sutrisno, was a former military chief.
But political analysts say the military has little respect for Habibie.
The beleaguered and highly unpopular president is to deliver an accountability speech before the parliament later in the week. If parliament rejects the speech, his bid for re-election would effectively be over.
He is under massive pressure over his handling of the East Timor crisis and a major banking scandal. There are fears of widespread unrest if he is re-elected, and a reformist faction within his Golkar party is pushing to ditch him as candidate.
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