Indonesia Court Says Suharto Too Ill to Face Corruption Trial By CALVIN SIMS JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 28 � An Indonesian court dismissed the Government's landmark corruption case against former President Suharto today, after an independent team of doctors declared him medically unfit to stand trial. The ruling was a major setback for Indonesia's democratically elected government, which sought to bring the ailing, 79-year-old, former dictator to justice for human rights abuses and other crimes committed during his brutal reign of three decades. While prosecutors said they would appeal the decision, they acknowledged that Mr. Suharto's poor physical condition would make it extremely difficult to prevail. A five-judge panel ruled that Mr. Suharto was too sick to face Government charges that he embezzled $590 million in state funds during his 32-year rule, which ended in 1998, amid economic despair and civil unrest. Court-appointed doctors testified today that Mr. Suharto had suffered three strokes last year that left him unable to understand or answer complex questions. One doctor said that Mr. Suharto had the communications skills of " kindergartner" and took up to a minute to answer basic inquiries. "We declare Suharto is unfit to stand trial," said Zakaria, the head of the team of 24 doctors who examined Mr. Suharto over the weekend. "Physically and mentally, he is not in the proper condition to be tried in the court." Indonesia's Attorney General Marzuki Darusman expressed deep disappointment with the court's ruling, saying that the justice system had failed the people. "The thing that we aimed for, which was to truly obtain justice for the people, was not achieved," said Mr. Marzuki, who had insisted that Mr. Suharto was well enough to stand trial. The case, which was the first serious attempt to prosecute Mr. Suharto for corruption, was widely viewed here and abroad as far more than just punishing the former strongman and his cronies for enriching themselves at public expense. It was seen as a litmus test for restoring the rule of law and a sense of equality to Indonesia, where corruption permeated nearly every aspect of society under Mr. Suharto's government. Mr. Suharto, along with his six children, is believed to have stolen billions of dollars from Indonesia through a broad network of deals in which his family made money from almost every sector of the economy. The court ruling set off violent clashes between hundreds of Suharto supporters and detractors who protested outside the auditorium where the trial was being conducted. The detractors called on authorities to arrest Mr. Suharto and forcibly bring him to court. As two busloads of Suharto supporters arrived at the trial venue, a mob of anti-Suharto student demonstrators pelted them with rocks. Police said the students beat to death one pro-Suharto supporter, severely injured two others, and set one of their buses on fire. As word of the court ruling spread, hundreds of student protesters converged on Mr. Suharto's house in central Jakarta where they were met by dozens of riot police who fired tear gas and plastic bullets into the stone-throwing crowds. The situation remained tense Thursday evening as large numbers of police were brought into the capital to retain order. "Suharto we're coming in there to get you," screamed an engineering student who identified himself as Ryacudu. `He's not sick at all, the student said of Mr. Suharto. "He's pretending just like Pinochet did." Indeed, the Suharto case showed similarities to that of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, who also was deemed medically unfit to stand trial in Spain, where he was wanted on charges of torture and other crimes dating to the years when he ruled Chile. The general was placed under house arrest during a visit to Britain, which later released him after doctors determined he was too sick to go on trial. However, when the general returned to a hero's welcome in Santiago, Chile, he appeared strong and in good health as he rose from his wheelchair to greet his supporters.
