This was revealed by the Indonesian head of state, who visited the elderly ex president in hospital. Suharto does not seem to be getting better after undergoing surgery at the beginning of the month.
Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto is in "serious condition" after colon surgery earlier this month, the country's president said on Friday, after visiting him in the hospital.
Suharto, who was ousted after 32 years in power in 1998 amid student protests and nationwide riots, had the surgery earlier this month to stem intestinal bleeding.
Doctors said a CT scan on Thursday revealed two new blockages in his brain, but did not elaborate.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after visiting Suharto for 20-minutes at Pertamina Hospital that the 84-year-old former president was in "serious condition."
The Indonesian government last week announced plans to drop charges against Suharto, who was indicted in 2000 on allegations of embezzling US0 million but has never seen the inside of a courtroom.
His lawyers argued successfully for years that a series of strokes had left the former dictator with irreparable brain damage and that he was not fit to stand trial.
President Yudhoyono told reporters on Friday he considered it his "moral duty" to visit Suharto.
"I have done the same for all senior government officials, including former presidents and vice presidents, when they were sick," he said. "And he is seriously ill."