Doctors stop Suharto's internal bleeding

Former Indonesian dictator Suharto’s condition improved slightly today after doctors succeeded in stopping internal bleeding in his stomach.

“He is conscious and able to communicate,” said Djoko Rahardjo, adding that doctors intended to give him another blood transfusion soon. “But he is no longer anaemic and pale.”

Suharto, 84, was admitted to hospital early this month for colon surgery and has since undergone several minor operations.

Doctors yesterday said he had been bleeding internally for close to 24 hours and that his condition was worsening.

Brig. Gen. Mardjo Subiandono, the chief of presidential doctors, said they discovered the source of the bleeding and were able to stop it.

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist until he was ousted from power in 1998, was indicted in 2000 on charges of embezzling €466m in state funds.

The country’s attorney general this month said proceedings against him had been abandoned, angering critics who blame the former strongman for hundreds of thousands of deaths.