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Indonesia's Wahid hardens stand against Suharto and son |
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October 7, 2000
JAKARTA, OCT 6 (AP) - Indonesia's reformist head of state hardened his stand against ex-dictator Suharto and his superrich family Friday, insisting that the former leader face a new trial and his youngest son go to prison for corruption. "We have to make this country and its people abide by the law," President Abdurrahman Wahid said after prayers at a mosque in South Jakarta. Wahid's government is currently appealing a decision by a Jakarta court last month to dismiss corruption charges against Suharto, 79, after doctors found him to be too sick to stand trial. "He must, by whatever means, be brought to court. If there is a reason that he cannot be brought to court because of doctors' findings, the judge can find another way to try Suharto," Wahid said. Suharto, who ruled for 32 years until his 1998 ouster, has been charged with siphoning off almost dlrs 600 million from the state coffers. On Tuesday, Suharto's son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, admitted his guilt in a separate graft case and appealed to Wahid to grant him a presidential pardon. Wahid refused on Wednesday. "I have clearly said I reject any appeal for clemency. He must be put in prison," Wahid said Friday. He said Tommy's case can be reviewed by an appeal court, but until it does he should start an 18-month prison sentence. Despite Wahid's comments, Tommy, a multimillionaire with a playboy image, remained free Friday. Court officials have not said when he might be taken into custody. Tommy, 37, is the first member of Suharto's family to be convicted of a crime. He was sentenced to prison on Sept. 22 by the Supreme Court, which overturned an acquittal last year by a lower court. The Supreme Court found him guilty of illegally enriching himself through a shady 1997 property deal with the state's main food supply agency. Prosecutors said the scam cost the Indonesian state dlrs 10.8 million. Wahid's comments are the latest in a series of jibes at the Suharto clan. Wahid has repeatedly accused Suharto's supporters of fomenting violence to destabilize his year-old government and derail its democratic reforms. Last month the president linked Tommy to a series of bombings in Jakarta. |