Fresh bid to pursue Indonesia's Suharto

Suharto rules for three decades and put aside $45 billion, accusers say

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's new attorney-general will make another attempt to have President Suharto face allegations he amassed massive wealth during his three decades in power.

Baharudin Lopa told reporters Friday that he would mount a civil case which officials at the attorney-general's office said would not require the presence of the former ruler in court.

A criminal court threw out a graft case against Suharto last year on the grounds he was too ill.

"We are preparing a civil case over his wealth and his behavior while he was in power," said Lopa, a tough-talking former member of Indonesia's human rights commission who took over as attorney-general on June 1.

Activists have said Suharto should also be tried for widespread human rights abuses during his reign that allowed the economy to flourish at the expense of political freedom.

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Neither Lopa nor other officials gave a timeframe for launching the suit, Reuters reported.

It was also not clear what penalty Suharto would face in a trial that might be the best way of getting to the bottom of accusations he and his family amassed as much as $45 billion.

Suharto and his family have denied any wrongdoing.

His youngest son late last year was sentenced to jail over a graft case but immediately went on the run and remains a fugitive.

The former president was discharged from hospital in Jakarta last week after being fitted with a permanent heart pacemaker.

Suharto has suffered health problems since being forced to step down three years ago when the country plunged into mass social unrest.

He has also had a number of strokes and in February had an appendix operation.