Econit declared 'clean' after director questioned<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Police declared consulting agency
\nEconit \"clean\" after questioning its former executive director
\nRizal Ramli in connection with allegations of graft against a
\nsenior economics minister.<\/p>\n
The director of the National Police's general crimes, Col. Edi
\nDarnadi, told reporters on Friday that no names were mentioned in
\nthe 1996 Econit report as was believed by American professor
\nJeffrey A. Winters.<\/p>\n
Winters said at a news conference here on Oct. 12 that
\naccording to the Econit report, Coordinating Minister for
\nEconomy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita was thought
\nto have colluded with copper and gold mining giant PT Freeport
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"In the report, however, not a single name was mentioned as it
\ndealt only with policies in order to give suggestions to the
\ngovernment,\" Edi said.<\/p>\n
Winters' remarks, which were strongly denied by Ginandjar,
\nwere said to have humiliated the minister.<\/p>\n
Rizal said that the names of the officials, believed to be
\ninvolved in the collusion, were exposed in detail in the Asian
\nWall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Rizal, a reform movement supporter, was summoned to the
\nNational Police headquarters as a witness and questioned for two
\nhours. Top lawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution and Todung Mulya Lubis
\nwere scheduled to accompany him but failed to show up.<\/p>\n
On arriving at the police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo in
\nSouth Jakarta, Rizal said he was glad to be invited by the police
\nespecially if police focused the probe on alleged collusion and
\ncorruption (KKN) practices.<\/p>\n
\"Econit has enough and complete data on KKN so as a good
\ncitizen I'll help the police, but if it is connected with
\nhumiliation charges, it is irrelevant.\"<\/p>\n
When pressed whether the police would also probe on the
\nalleged corruption and collusion, Edi said that such measures
\nwould be determined by higher ranking officials.<\/p>\n
\"We'll wait and see what the senior people say,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"For the moment, Rizal's testimony is enough, but we may
\nsummon him again at any time if we need to build the case,\" Edi
\nsaid, adding that the police had also issued a summons against
\nBinny Buchori, an organizer of the discussion at which Winters
\nmade his comments about Ginandjar.<\/p>\n
Binny, executive secretary of the International NGO Forum on
\nIndonesian Development (Infid), was scheduled to testify on
\nFriday but failed to answer the summons.<\/p>\n
\"I have told the police I cannot come today because I am
\norganizing a meeting,\" Binny said, referring to the two-day
\nInternational Consultation Supporting Democracy in Indonesia
\nbeing held here on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"But I do intend to come with my lawyer Abdul Hakim Garuda
\nNusantara,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said she would tell the police that the discussion in
\nwhich Winters spoke was organized among others by Infid,
\nIndonesian Corruption Watch and Gempita, another private group
\nfocusing on corruption.<\/p>\n
The talks were on alleged corruption cases related to the
\nWorld Bank and how to prevent similar cases, she said, for which
\nWinters was invited as a source.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the head of the giant PT Freeport Indonesia
\nAdrianto Magribi was questioned for more than six hours at the
\nAttorney General's Office, Barman Zahir, spokesman for the
\nAttorney General's Office, confirmed on Friday.<\/p>\n
Barman said businessman Aburizal Bakrie, Freeport Chairman
\nJames Moffett and former director general for mines Kosim
\nGandataruna would also be questioned next week in relation to
\nalleged corruption in PT Freeport Indonesia. (emf\/anr)<\/p>",
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