Ex-Leader Suharto May Need Surgery

Former Indonesian President Suharto was hospitalized with intestinal bleeding and could undergo surgery, less than a month after he suffered a stroke, hospital sources said. Suharto’s personal physician, Ibrahim Ginting, said Suharto, 78, was in good condition at Jakarta’s Pertamina Hospital. Other hospital doctors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said surgeons were planning to operate on Suharto to stem the bleeding. Suharto was forced to quit the presidency in May 1998 after a wave of bloody protests and deadly riots. Suharto, who is fending off allegations of mass corruption during his 32-year iron-fisted reign, suffered what doctors and family said was a mild stroke July 20. It reduced some of his body movement and slurred his speech.