Soeharto`s case to become source of tension if not solved: observer

"I think it will become a source of tension among Soeharto`s family, the government and the people," Fealy told ANTARA News commenting on the rejection by Soeharto`s family of the government`s out-of-court settlement offer.
He said the rejection by Soeharto`s family of the government`s offer indicated there were billions of dollars the family had stashed away in different places that should be returned to the state.
Greg Healy, who is a senior researcher on Asia Pacific studies and a lecturer at the ANU said that the rejection by the Soeharto family of the government`s offer was reasonable for political leaders and people of Indonesia to criticize.

Apart from unclear solution to Soeharto`s legal case, Healy said he was a little bit confused to see that many political leaders --who used to oppose Soeharto-- now came up to forgive him.
As a researcher, he said, he was very interested in seeing the attitude of the people and government towards the second president who was 32 years in power. After all, not many historians were prepared to defend the Indonesian government under Soeharto`s period.

Asked to comment on Robert Edward Elson`s book: "Soeharto, Political Biography (October 2001)" which left the impression it was defending Soeharto and referring to him as a very important leader in Asia in the 20th century, Greg Fealy said the book was fairly balanced.
It was earlier reported Attorney General Hendarman Supandji visited ailing Soeharto at Pertamin Hospital in South Jaklarta on Friday last week after receiving a directive from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to approach Soeharto and try to propose an out-of-court settlement of the state`s civil law suit against the former New Order strong man.