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Indonesia's Suharto to Face Court Aug 31
Indonesia's disgraced former President Suharto will go on trial for corruption on August 31 and must attend despite reports he is too ill, a senior court official said on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say at least 130 witnesses will be called to testify at what will be Indonesia's trial of the century. "Suharto must face the trial. I have said that I will order the prosecutors to make him come to the trial," chief judge Lalu Mariyun of the South Jakarta Court told a packed news conference.
Asked what the court would do if Suharto, 79, refused to come, Mariyun said: "Let's just see what the reasons are. If it happens, we will go back to the code of court conduct. Hopefully all will come."
He did not explain what the court's code meant, and legal experts were not immediately available to clarify.
The attorney-general has formally charged Suharto with graft over the misuse of up to $550 million from seven charities he controlled while in power. Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman has argued Suharto was well enough to be tried.
Suharto's lawyers have said their client was too ill to attend, saying he has trouble answering basic questions. The former army general suffered a stroke last year and was also hospitalised for another ailment.
The sight of the elderly despot in a dock would be an extraordinary one for Indonesians, most of whom knew no other leader until he was forced to step down in 1998 amid mounting violence and economic collapse.
It would deepen the humiliation for a man who led Indonesia for 32 years of unprecedented economic growth and political stability but whose iron rule was blackened by human rights abuses, ruthless political control and massive graft.
The trial will be held at the Department of Agriculture in south Jakarta, a large complex that officials said would be more appropriate than a court because of its space. It will start at 10 am (0300 GMT).
Prosecutors have said Suharto faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $30 million. Other officials have previously said Suharto could be jailed for life.
However, Indonesia's mercurial President Abdurrahman Wahid has said he would pardon Suharto if he was convicted.
Suharto and his family have been accused of corruptly amassing a fortune of up to $45 billion during his rule. All have denied any wrongdoing.
The world's fourth most populous country is still struggling to recover from the near collapse that marked the end of Suharto's iron rule.
There has been heavy public pressure to put Suharto in the dock and political analysts have said the government must at least be seen to be fulfilling that demand or face renewed street protests.
However, some say that a subsequent pardon would probably be generally acceptable but would still likely trigger student protests.
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