Jakarta – With growing support from politicians to halt the prosecution of former president Soeharto, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says it is up to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to decide on the case.

"We leave it to the President. In making this decision he must certainly involve the public through legislative leaders," commission deputy chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas told The Jakarta Post on Thursday night.

He said if the case against Soeharto was dropped it would not "significantly affect efforts" to fight corruption in the country. "It's an extraordinary case," Erry said.

A source at the independent antigraft commission said, "The KPK can accept this if the decision on Soeharto does not halt the corruption investigations into his cronies." Meanwhile, human rights and antigraft activists have insisted the legal process against the ailing former strongman go forward.

Activists said Soeharto could be tried in absentia if he was unable to stand trial because of his health. They did not rule out the possibility of a pardon for the former president if he was found guilty.

"It is the President's prerogatives to forgive him (Soeharto). But the President should first allow legal authorities to complete the legal process against him," Usman Hamid from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said Thursday.

Hendardi, from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, said from a legal standpoint it would be possible to try Soeharto in absentia. "If Soeharto is not strong enough to stand trial, his case must still be taken to court, even without his physical presence," he told a news conference Wednesday.

The joint press briefing was attended by activists from several other non-governmental organizations, including Indonesian Corruption Watch, Human Rights Watch Group, Imparsial and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation.

However, Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan said Soeharto could not be tried in absentia because it would violate regulations. An in absentia trial is allowed only when a suspect is physically absent as a show of resisting the law, such as fleeing abroad, he said.

"Soeharto is here, but he is physically unable to stand trial. Let's not get into technical squabbles; let's be logical. We should see objectively whether the man can stand trial," Bagir said Thursday.

Usman from Kontras said before the government decided to pardon Soeharto, it should consider the fates of victims of human rights abuses that took place during his 32-year autocratic regime.

He suggested the government set up an ad hoc special team to identify victims across Indonesia and provide them with some form of compensation. "Many victims are living in economic hardship due to Soeharto's unjust policies. And it is the responsibility of the current government to help them," he said.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Mustafa Kamal said the prosecution of Soeharto remained necessary to determine whether or not he was guilty, after which the government could consider giving him a pardon. "Simply granting a pardon isn't an option because that would leave problems, and it would set a bad precedent for future cases," he said.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid, who attended a meeting late Wednesday between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and leaders of legislative and legal institutions, said there was no decision yet on whether to drop Soeharto's case. "It's not true that the government has decided to halt the corruption probe into Soeharto. The meeting was only to seek input," said Hidayat, who is a former PKS leader.

On Wednesday the Assembly said Soeharto should issue a public apology over the excesses of his regime and hand over his cash-rich charitable foundations to the state before the government considered closing his case.