Chris McCall, Jakarta – Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Jakarta yesterday to demand a speedy trial for former president Suharto as the Government finished a corruption probe and prepared for prosecution.
State prosecutor Antasari Azhar said Mr Suharto could face life imprisonment and a 30 million rupiah (HK$27,000) fine. He is to be charged not as a former head of state but as head of seven charities he formerly controlled. Mr Suharto, 79, ill and under house arrest, is accused of misusing funds of at least 1,400 billion rupiah (HK$1.2 billion).
Crowds of protesters carried an effigy of Mr Suharto along with several black makeshift coffins to his house in central Jakarta. Dozens of riot police armed with batons and shields blocked the entrance to Cendana Street, for decades the unofficial seat of power in Indonesia.
"Try Suharto," yelled protesters through megaphones. "The people will judge Suharto through a people's court," declared a banner.
The protest was to mark the fourth anniversary of bloody riots in Jakarta in 1996 after government security forces stormed the headquarters of the then opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). At least five people were killed in the violence with several others still missing, in what quickly became a legend of Indonesia's struggle for democracy.
Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former PDI leader who was ousted by a Suharto-backed faction, has gone on to become an elected vice-president. Her Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) started as a splinter group but now dwarfs its parent.
Police appealed to protesters for calm as they formed a human chain near Mr Suharto's house. They included Ms Megawati's supporters and others from the left-wing People's Democratic Party, which Mr Suharto banned.
Officials at the Attorney-General's office said they would meet an August 10 deadline to present Mr Suharto's case in court. It would probably be at the South Jakarta District Court, where most of the witnesses were and Mr Suharto would be expected to attend himself.
"Investigations have finished. According to Indonesian law now it has to go the Public Prosecutors Office for them to look at it. I think this will happen before the end of the month," said Mr Azhar. "It is going to court in the month of August. A prosecution will begin after there is a decision from the court. He has to attend."
Lawyers for Mr Suharto have argued that he is too ill to stand trial after a stroke last year. They say this has affected his mental health.
Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman, meanwhile, is under pressure to get his investigation to court. Mr Marzuki, however, is also under pressure from his own Golkar party. For decades, the political pillar of Mr Suharto's "New Order" regime, Golkar remains a force in parliament with several former Suharto ministers among its top ranks.
Many in Golkar are nervous about trying their old master. One Indonesian legal expert and rights activist said he was worried Mr Marzuki was seeking a way to cave in to their wishes to drop the probe without being seen as responsible in the public eye.
Bambang Widjoyanto, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, said Mr Suharto's lawyers may be trying to present him as more ill than he was. If they prove he is not of sound mind then under Indonesian law he would not be able to stand trial.
"The defence strategy is to use the argument of health – permanent brain damage. They want to say he is already crazy. That would mean he cannot take responsibility," said Mr Widjoyanto. "What I fear is that this is an escape gate that has been made by a politician who has become Attorney-General."