Indonesians Shocked by Sudden Firing of Attorney General

by Andreas Harsono

Habibie, who took office last month after strongman Suharto stepped down, replaced Atmonegoro in a short ceremony at the presidential palace attended by Maj. Gen. Muhammad Ghalib, the former head of the prosecutor's office for the Indonesian armed forces, locally known as Abri.

"I will continue the work that has been paved by the former attorney general. I will continue what he has carried out. I will even increase it if necessary. That's my commitment," said Ghalib.

Atmonegoro, though, declined to comment, saying that Habibie had asked him to advise Ghalib. "The programs of the Attorney General's Office does not change easily from day to day," he noted.

Wiranto unexpectedly met with the politically-untested President Habibie on Monday, and afterwards the five-star general told the presidential press corps, "There will be a big announcement this week."

A few hours later a presidential spokesman read a statement announcing that Atmonegoro would be replaced by Ghalib.

Indeed, the announcement shocked the public here -- especially those who had earlier hoped that the Attorney General's Office, long thought of as a Suharto tool to prosecute pro-democracy activists would turn into a more independent force in Indonesia after Atmonegoro took office in March.

It was revealed last week that Atmonegoro had established a team of 35 attorneys to investigate the Suharto fortune, which is independently estimated between $16 billion and $40 billion.

Political scientist Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia maintained that the move to replace Atmonegoro, a career prosecutor, with Ghalib, a military man, was a move by the military to protect Suharto and his children.

"In the present era of reform, it should have been the military posts which are returned to civilian officials, not the other way around," Sanit said.

Wiranto reportedly met Suharto at the latter's residence earlier this month. Suharto himself has also begun to appear in public, most recently performing his Friday prayers in Jakarta mosques while accompanied by Jakarta's military commander.

The speculation here is that the Suhartos actually still have some sort of control over the military. It was the military which fully backed Suharto until the last minute, despite widespread opposition to his longtime rule.

Suharto also reportedly invited retired and active military officers, including former Abri commander Edi Sudrajat, to come to his house to discuss politics.

Lawyer Frank Taira Supit, who helped founded the Movement of Concerned Citizens on State Assets, an independent group that wants to investigate the wealth of the Suhartos, said after meeting Atmonegoro on Tuesday, "I think Soedjono was either acting too fast or too slow (in the corruption probe)."

Supit said the replacement indicates a sharp behind-the-scenes change of circumstances.

"It means there have been some developments which necessitate a drastic response," he said.

Suharto denies that he is a billionaire, saying through his lawyer that he will welcome independent investigations into his wealth. A close friend of Suharto earlier said that three Suharto-controlled foundations -- the Dharmais Foundation, the Dakab Foundation and the Supersemar Foundation -- which allegedlly functioned as his holding companies -- controlled assets of only around $200,000.

But independent business analysts, both local and foreign, estimate that the Suhartos control more than 1,200 companies in Indonesia, ranging from toll road operations to television networks.

Responding to the criticism, Ghalib bluntly told the media that he could not comment.

"I cannot talk much," he said. "I have to work and to show my ability."

Bambang Widjojanto of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, one of the biggest non governmental organizations in Indonesia, said that Atmonegoro's "rather independent nature led to his dismissal."

However, Bambang said he did not know Ghalib well enough to comment on the likely quality of his performance.

"It would be unfair for me to comment, but I hope Ghalib can show his credibility in his new post," he said. "His institution, Abri, is at stake. He is a military man who has been put in one of the most strategic posts under seemingly increasingly civilian government," said the human rights lawyer.