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Court asks independent to rule on Suharto's health |
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September 15, 2000
JAKARTA (AP) - The corruption trial of Indonesia's ailing ex-dictator Suharto was adjourned Thursday after the court appointed an independent medical team to determine whether he is fit to stand trial. Chief Judge Lalu Mariyun ordered Suharto to attend the next hearing, on Sept. 28. Suharto stayed away from both the trial's opening session on Aug. 31 and from Thursday's hearing on grounds of ill health. Like many Indonesians, he uses only one name. Mariyun ruled that an independent team, consisting of physicians from three universities as well the Health Ministry and the Indonesian medical association, should examine Suharto and report within two weeks. Outside, several dozen anti-Suharto demonstrators threw stones at buses carrying about 100 supporters of the old strongman. The rival groups later gathered near Suharto's residence, forcing riot police to fire tear gas to disperse them. Suharto, 79, ruled Indonesia for 32 years until riots forced him out in 1998. He is charged with embezzling dlrs 583 million in state funds to bankroll business empires for his children and cronies. Suharto has denied any wrongdoing. If convicted he could be imprisoned for life, although President Abdurrahman Wahid has offered a pardon if his ill-gotten wealth is returned to the state. Suharto left a legacy of massive human rights abuses and endemic corruption. His prosecution is regarded as central to efforts by Wahid's reform-minded government to democratize Indonesia and restore foreign confidence in the crisis-ridden economy. Thursday's court session came a day after a car bomb wrecked the basement garage of the Jakarta Stock Exchange. It was the latest in a string of mysterious blasts in Jakarta that have coincided with each step in the case. Analysts have speculated that the former dictator's loyalists within the intelligence services and army's special forces may be behind the apparent attempts to destabilize the country. "The blast ... may be linked to the trial of Suharto," senior economics minister Rizal Ramli told reporters before a cabinet meeting Thursday. Suharto's doctors, who wore white hospital coats, told the court that three strokes had damaged the former autocrat's brain. They said he also suffers from hypertension, kidney stones, heart problems, diabetes and that his ability to speak is impaired. Teguh Ranahkusuma, Suharto's most senior physician, pointed to an overhead projection showing scans of Suharto's brain. "The next threat to his health, which could include any stressful event, will worsen other previous ailments," he said. "The next threat (to his health) will be fatal." Prosecutors maintained that Suharto was fit to face trial, grilling his doctors about his ability to understand and answer questions. In recent public appearances, Suharto has walked unaided, chatted with people and seemed in good spirits. |