Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Protesters wearing Suharto masks demanded the ailing former dictator face trial Sunday, the eighth anniversary of the massive pro-democracy demonstrations that ousted him.
Suharto, 84, remained in the hospital following colon surgery two weeks ago to stem intestinal bleeding. Doctors said Sunday that the former strongman, who has been weakened by several strokes, was recovering, but remained seriously ill.
Indonesia's attorney general last week dropped long-standing corruption charges against Suharto because of his health, angering rights activists but gratifying his supporters, many of whom became rich during his 32-year rule and remain in powerful positions within the bureaucracy.
"The country is split," said Erry Harjapamengkas, deputy head of Indonesia's anti-corruption agency. "Some groups want him to be forgiven, while the younger generation wants to see him in court."
In Jakarta, around 200 protesters rallied outside the presidential palace carrying a man wearing a Suharto mask in a bamboo cage, one of several demonstrations in the country calling for the former army general to be punished.
"(President Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono has to take a clear step on Suharto by putting him on trial and then returning the stolen money to the state," said Purnomo, a protester in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta. Like many Indonesians, Purnomo goes by a single name.
The country has had four presidents since Suharto's ouster on May 21, 1998, after months of nationwide pro-democracy protests and rioting, but none have been able to decide on what to do with the former dictator and his wealthy children.
Yudhoyono, himself an ex-army general who rose swiftly through the ranks during the Suharto years, has refused to take sides in the debate, saying Saturday that the decision was purely up to law enforcement agencies.
Marzuki Darusman, who was attorney general when the original corruption charges were laid against Suharto in 2000, said that case was just the tip of the iceberg, but predicted powerful forces would likely prevent any more legal moves against him.
"There are forces of resistance within the bureaucracy, really the armed forces, which think this is as far as things should go," he said.
Suharto, who denies stealing any money from the country, has been hospitalized at least four times since his ouster, and doctors say the strokes have permanently affected his memory and speech. Critics say he should be tried in absentia if he is too ill to come to court.
Human rights activists say Suharto should also be charged in connection with at least 500,000 political killings during his regime, as well the deaths of tens of thousands of people at the hands of security forces in the separatist regions of Papua, Aceh and East Timor, now an independent country.
But Indonesia's school history books largely gloss over the atrocities, and many Indonesians remember his rule for rapid economic growth, stability and cheap rice and feel he should be allowed to live out the remainder of his life without disturbance.