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Former President Suharto leaves hospital

Source
Indonesian Observer - August 20, 1999

Jakarta – Former President Soeharto left hospital yesterday after five days of treatment for intestinal bleeding as his lawyer brushed aside rumors his client is seeking treatment abroad.

"What I can see is that Pak Harto is fit, medically fit, you can ask the doctors. I have heard Pak Harto has no plans to go to Singapore or Japan for treatment," lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon told reporters.

Indonesia's former strongman was rushed to Pertamina Hospital last Saturday after being diagnosed with intestinal bleeding. Last month he was treated at the same hospital for 10 days after suffering a mild stroke. His doctors said the bleeding has nothing to do with the stroke.

"Medically speaking, he can go home anytime, and [in fact] doctors have permitted him to return home," Dr Ibrahim Ginting, head of the the former president's medical team, told reporters.

Looking pale and worn out, the 78 year-old Soeharto managed a smile and a wave at the hordes of curious journalists as he stood up from a wheelchair to get into a waiting car driven by his second son Bambang Trihatmodjo. Eldest daughter Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana was also in the car.

When asked about overseas treatment for the ex-president, Ginting said: "The [Soeharto] family did not mention the possibility of taking him abroad."

Ginting said Pak Harto needs to be disciplined about his diet. A doctor and several nurses will take care of the former leader at a private clinic situated in his Menteng, Central Jakarta home.

Indonesia's second president, Soeharto, was forced down in May last year after 32 years in power, and is currently facing a corruption investigation.

The government, meanwhile, has offered a political settlement to resolve his case and is set to review the probe next week on health reasons.

The Attorney-General's Office, which has so far failed to find indication of corruption, early this week presented a "legal display" of progress of the probe to Coordinating Minister of Development Supervision and State Administrative Reform Hartarto Suryosunario and State Secretary/Justice Minister Muladi.

Muladi said President BJ Habibie will decide on the status of the probe when he receives a report on the probe next week.

In its May edition, TIME magazine claimed that the former president and his family have assets totaling US$15 billion and that he transferred cash amounting to US$9 billion from a Swiss account to an Austrian bank moments after his downfall. The former strongman, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing.

Tampubolon said "psychological torture," a consequence of the extremely slow moving legal process has contributed to his client's condition. Uncertainties over Soeharto's legal status are proof of a violatin of human rights, the lawyer added.

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