Indonesia: Yudhoyono's Pardon Flip-Flop

The Indonesian government said May 10 it would grant former President Suharto a pardon from the corruption charges he has faced. On May 11, however, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the decision to grant the pardon had been delayed. This is in keeping with the limbo Jakarta has left Suharto in for some time, in which even though corruption charges were filed, Suharto has yet to face a trial — a strategy that has worked well for Yudhoyono. Why the announcement of a pardon was made at all, thereby rocking the status quo, remains an enigma.