Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – Riot police blocked roads leading to ex-President Suharto's house today as hundreds of protesters rallied in central Jakarta calling for the former dictator to be prosecuted for corruption.
The students, carrying banners reading "Arrest Suharto" and "Confiscate Suharto's wealth," denounced the government for allegedly taking too long to investigate the former dictator's involvement in a number of corruption scandals. In the past week, there have been several anti-Suharto protests, some leading to violent clashes with police.
Suharto, who has been formally named a suspect in connection with a corruption scandal involving several charitable foundations, has denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said today that one of Suharto's top military men, former military chief Gen. Wiranto, may not have to face trial, despite being implicated in the destruction of East Timor last year. The attorney general said Wiranto cannot be charged with omission of duties under Indonesia's legal system.
A government human rights investigation and a UN inquiry found that as military commander Wiranto bore ultimate responsibility for atrocities committed by Indonesian forces in East Timor after its people voted to secede in a UN-sponsored plebiscite. But the probes did not uncover any evidence that Wiranto was personally involved in organizing the violence.
"Under existing law, omission does not carry any penalty," the attorney general told journalists in Jakarta. "He will not be able to be tried in court ... if he's not found to be guilty of complicity."
He said that while the legal loophole may prevent Wiranto from facing prosecution, there is a move to change the law to make omission of duties a crime punishable by 12 years in jail.
More than 250 bodies have so far been recovered and experts have estimated that 70 percent of the homes and buildings in the half-island territory were destroyed in the rampage by pro- Indonesian militias. At the time of the vote, Indonesia's armed forces were responsible for maintaining security.
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who assumed office last October after a multinational peacekeeping force had restored order in East Timor, has promised that Wiranto will be prosecuted, but has said that the former commander may be pardoned if found guilty.
The UN Security Council has threatened to set up an international tribunal – similar to the one for the former Yugoslavia – if Indonesia fails to prosecute those responsible for the carnage.