AG vows to hunt state assets stashed abroad<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib pledged on
\nFriday to hunt state assets which were allegedly stashed overseas
\nduring the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"We will consult with the foreign ministry to rescue the state
\nassets stashed overseas,\" Ghalib told reporters after meeting
\nSwiss Ambassador to Indonesia Grard Fonjallaz at his office in
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Fonjallaz said that the purpose of his visit was to explain
\nthat Switzerland's banking secrecy was \"not absolute\" as long as
\nthere was a formal demand from a particular country to launch
\ninvestigations into a suspected bank account.<\/p>\n
\"We would not take the initiative (to launch the
\ninvestigation), it has to come from the country of origin of the
\nperson (suspected of having illegally gained deposits).<\/p>\n
\"We have done that in the Marcos, Duvalier and Mobutu cases,\"
\nFonjallaz said referring to the ousted dictators of the
\nPhilippines, Haiti and Zaire respectively.<\/p>\n
Fonjallaz however denied that the investigation into
\nSoeharto's wealth was on the agenda during his meeting with the
\nAttorney General.<\/p>\n
\"We will make the best of this offer... the minister of
\nforeign affairs (Ali Alatas) has also offered to cooperate,\"
\nGhalib said.<\/p>\n
Alatas said earlier this week that his ministry was ready to
\nassist the Attorney General's Office in rescuing state assets
\npossibly stashed abroad during the Soeharto era.<\/p>\n
Ghalib came under fire after he said on Monday that he
\nbelieved Soeharto's public denial to charges that he had
\naccumulated a fortune worth trillions of rupiah during his rule.<\/p>\n
\"He is a former president, how come you would not believe a
\nstatement from Soeharto?\" Ghalib said, responding to questions on
\nSoeharto's address broadcast by the private TPI television
\nstation on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, in a speech on the channel controlled by his eldest
\ndaughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, said: \"The fact is, I don't
\nhave even one cent of savings abroad, don't have accounts at
\nforeign banks... let alone hundreds of billion of dollars.\"<\/p>\n
Soeharto, referring to a growing clamor that he answer
\nallegations of amassing a fortune and stand trial if necessary,
\nalso challenged anyone who claimed he was rich to present their
\nevidence.<\/p>\n
American magazine Forbes estimated in July that Soeharto, 77,
\nwho stepped down amid mounting public pressure on May 21, had a
\nfortune worth US$4 billion.<\/p>\n
A lawyer representing Soeharto called on the government and
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights on Wednesday to provide
\nprotection for the veteran ruler against slanderous and
\nhumiliating remarks. But Minister of Justice Muladi said only
\nlegal proceedings against the allegations could stop the public's
\ncomments. (byg)<\/p>",
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