For weeks President Abdurrahman Wahid has accused Suharto of trying to destabilize his government. After last week’s bombing, an angry Wahid ordered police to detain Suharto’s youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra (Tommy), for questioning. That wasn’t necessary. The wealthy, 38-year-old Tommy–who last year was acquitted of charges in a real-estate scam–went to a police office himself and spent two hours talking with detectives. Later, he strongly denied having any link to the bomb attack and said that he was “very disappointed” with Wahid. Habib Alwi al Baaqil, a Muslim leader close to Suharto, was also questioned. “There are no sacred cows in this country,” Wahid said.
Suharto has twice failed to show up for his trial, claiming ill health. Judges have demanded that prosecutors produce him on Sept. 28. It’s doubtful that the former dictator will appear in court on that date, either. But Suharto may face more trouble than he thinks: last week, former General Sutiyoso, now the governor of Jakarta, testified that Suharto ordered the military to attack the headquarters of Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party in 1996. Such testimony could open the way for Suharto to be tried on human-rights violations as well as corruption–or it could bring more violence. That’s the trade-off the embattled Wahid government has to face.
