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Suharto in serious condition, bleeding

09 May 2005, JAKARTA - Former Indonesian president Suharto is suffering from internal bleeding and breathing problems and needs to stay in hospital longer, a senior doctor said on Monday. The 83-year-old former strongman was taken to a Jakarta hospital on Thursday because of unspecified blood problems.

"Critical no, but (he is) still unstable," said Mardjo Soebiandono, who heads a special medical team which treats Indonesian presidents. "There is still bleeding, breathing problems, although they have been subsiding. So tight treatment and observation are needed," he told reporters, adding that the chances of a full recovery from the condition were only "50-50".

"Suharto wants to go home quickly. But the bleeding should stop first before we can conclude when he can go home," Soebiandono said at the hospital where the former dictator is staying. He added the bleeding was coming from Suharto's digestive system and had affected his kidneys and lungs. Suharto stepped down after 32 years in power in 1998 when social and political chaos engulfed Indonesia. He has suffered several strokes since then.
Attempts to prosecute Suharto for alleged corruption have foundered because of his ill health. The ex-general sharply raised incomes in Indonesia at the expense of political freedoms and widespread graft during his rule.