VZCZCXRO2312
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0085 0151100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151100Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7645
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 4637
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 1872
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1409
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 2237
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ID
SUBJECT: SUHARTO CLINGS TO LIFE, LEGAL DEBATE ENSUES 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 33 
 
     ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 2974 
 
¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Former Indonesian President Suharto remains 
in critical condition eleven days after entering the hospital 
on January 5.  Media coverage remains intensive, and a 
limited but growing number of domestic and foreign 
dignitaries have come to his bedside.  Suharto's supporters 
called for dropping an outstanding civil suit against the 
former dictator.  While the government has demurred publicly, 
prosecutors reportedly have offered an out-of-court 
settlement.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶3. (U) 50-50 CHANCE: Suharto remains in critical but stable 
condition after 11 days in the hospital.  Media reports that, 
according to doctors, he experienced multiple organ failures 
on January 11-12, has suffered a repeated buildup of fluid at 
various points in the body and now has a lung infection.  He 
remains dependent on life support, and one doctor described 
the octogenarian chances of pulling through as 50-50. 
Various rumors have circulated as to why Suharto lingers on, 
including a purported Javanese belief that it is bad luck to 
die in January and alleged Suharto family machinations to 
have outstanding legal cases against him dropped. 
 
¶4. (U) VIP VISITS PICK UP:  Media coverage remains constant, 
and numerous Indonesian leaders, including President 
Yudhoyono, VP Kalla, Speaker of Parliament Agung Laksono and 
high-ranking military officers, have visited him. 
International visitors included former Singapore PM Lee Kwan 
Yew, former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and Brunei Sultan 
Hassanal Bolkiah.  Lee Kwan Yew, the first to visit, 
expressed dismay that Suharto was not being shown the respect 
due a leader of his time. 
 
¶5. (SBU) LAWSUIT GOES ON, BUT TACTICS CHANGE:  The former 
president's illness sparked a vigorous debate regarding the 
ongoing multi-million-dollar civil lawsuit that the Attorney 
General's Office has filed against Suharto and the Supersemar 
Foundation.  Supporters, notably from Golkar Party, have 
appealed for the GOI to drop the case against the Supersemar 
foundation, which Suharto established (ref b).  The Attorney 
General responded that the case would proceed, while 
President Yudhoyono deemed the debate inappropriate under the 
circumstances.  In what could be a move to resolve the issue, 
prosecutors reportedly offered the foundation an out-of-court 
settlement last week.  If accepted, the settlement offer 
could represent a face-saving way out of the controversy for 
both sides. 
HUME