Suharto's Son Denies Link to Bombings
J A K A R T A, Indonesia, Sept. 16, 2000 -- Tommy Suharto, the multimillionaireson of Indonesia’s ex-dictator, denied any link today to a spateof deadly bombings, despite demands by the nation’s president thathe be arrested.
“I am very disappointed with Gus Dur’s statement,” Tommy Suharto toldreporters after being questioned for two hours at Jakarta’s policeheadquarters. He was referring to President Abdurrahman Wahid, whois widely known by his nickname, Gus Dur.
On Friday, Wahid announced that he had ordered police to arrestTommy Suharto. Wahid said he wanted to prevent more bomb attacks and hadenough evidence against Tommy and another suspect, a Muslim leader,to justify arrest.
Released From Custody But detectives, saying they lacked the evidence necessary toproceed with the investigation, let Tommy Suharto go free.
“Tommy was questioned in order to clarify the president’slatest statement,” said Jakarta detective chief Col. HariMontolalu. “We called him and he voluntarily came to our office.”
Earlier this week, a car bomb and a subsequent fire killed 15people in an underground garage at the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Theattack was the deadliest in a series to rock the city of 11 millionpeople in recent months.
Many speculate the blasts were the work of supporters ofSuharto, who ruled Indonesian for three decades with an iron fistbut is now facing trial for massive corruption.
Three of the blasts, including Wednesday’s, have coincided withmajor developments in the case against Suharto, who is accused ofstealing at least $583 million in government money to bankrollbusinesses controlled by his cronies and children—includingTommy.
Suharto has refused to attend his own trial on the grounds offailing health. He has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers havealso denied that he is in anyway linked to the bombings.
The blasts, along with ethnic and separatist bloodshed elsewherein the Indonesian archipelago, have weakened Wahid’s ability togovern the world’s fourth most populous nation.
For weeks Wahid, a Muslim cleric, has complained of a conspiracyto destabilize his year-old government, Indonesia’s most democraticin more than four decades.
Suspect May Sue President
The other suspect named by Wahid, Habib Ali Baagil, who heads apro-Suharto Muslim group, went to police headquarters Fridayevening. He later said he was innocent and threatened to sue thepresident.
The 38-year-old Tommy, who is also known by his traditionalname, Hutomo Mandala Putra, has been implicated in various shadycommercial dealings, including a failed national car project thatcost Indonesia billions of dollars in tax exemptions. He wasacquitted in 1999 of charges relating to a real estate scam.
In March, a rifle bullet was fired through a window ofIndonesia’s parliament as lawmakers questioned him over other graftallegations. Then in July a bomb rocked the attorney general’soffice soon after he was interrogated about his father’s wealth.
Since his father was forced to quit amid riots and protests in1998, some of Tommy’s businesses have turned sour. However, he isstill believed to have a fortune.