Soeharto threatens to sue `Time'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto threatened to sue Time
\nmagazine on Wednesday for suggesting he and his family had
\namassed a $15 billion fortune in the 32 years he was in power.<\/p>\n
Topnotch lawyers representing Indonesia's former strongman
\nwrote a \"warning letter\" to Time's Hong Kong correspondent John
\nColmey, demanding he provide evidence to support the claims.<\/p>\n
The allegations were made in articles which appeared in Time's
\nAsia edition this week.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to emphasize herewith that your reports
\nregarding his valid accounts abroad are absolutely not true, and
\nthat is nothing than a false report, which has defamed and
\nhumiliated our client,\" the letter said, copies of which were
\ndistributed to journalists.<\/p>\n
\"Failing to supply us with your supporting legal evidence by
\nat the latest May 24, 1999, shall cause us to take the requisite
\nlegal actions, either civil or criminal.\"<\/p>\n
The letter was signed by eight lawyers -- Juan Felix
\nTampubolon, O.C. Kaligis, Denny Kailimang, Mohammad Assegaf,
\nIndriyanto Seno Adji, Aibrah Said, Syamsul Hadi and Victor S.
\nSiregar -- after they met with Soeharto earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
In an accompanying statement, the lawyers said Soeharto's
\nproperty should be differentiated from holdings of his children
\nor relatives.<\/p>\n
\"Soeharto does not own any kind of asset abroad in any form,
\nbe they in cash, stocks, real estate and jewelry as alleged by
\nTime.<\/p>\n
\"Soeharto never transferred $9 billion from a Swiss bank to
\nAustria in May 1998. The Time article did not mention the name of
\nthe banks in Switzerland or Austria, or the name of the
\nrecipient.\"<\/p>\n
The lawyers said they were considering filing lawsuits against
\nTime magazine for \"attacking the integrity and good name of our
\nclient, an act that could be qualified as slander and tarnishing
\na person's reputation\".<\/p>\n
The magazine, with a cover story titled \"Soeharto Inc\",
\nreached Indonesian readers on Wednesday, but many people had read
\nthe articles since Monday by accessing the Time Internet site.<\/p>\n
Colmey told The Jakarta Post by phone from Hong Kong that
\ninformation in the articles was solid. \"We stand by the story.\"<\/p>\n
He refused further comment, saying the matter would be taken
\nup by Time magazine lawyers.<\/p>\n
Soeharto was forced to resign by the force of \"people's power\"
\na year ago this Friday.<\/p>\n
Reports from Austria suggested a massive transfer of funds
\nfrom Switzerland a few days after Soeharto's resignation, but the
\nownership of the money was never revealed.<\/p>\n
\"Time has learned that $9 billion of Soeharto money was
\ntransferred from Switzerland to a nominee bank account in
\nAustria. Not bad for a man whose presidential salary was $1,764 a
\nmonth when he left office,\" the investigative report said.<\/p>\n
It estimated that Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti
\nRukmana, owned about $700 million, son Sigit Harjoyudanto $800
\nmillion, son Bambang Trihatmodjo $3 billion, daughter Siti
\nHediati Hariyadi $75 million, son Hutomo Mandala Putra $800
\nmillion and daughter Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih, $30 million.<\/p>\n
All six children were active in business during Soeharto's
\nrein, and many received privileges and special concessions, such
\nas monopoly rights and easy access to state credit.<\/p>\n
Separately, Attorney General Lt. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib announced
\nthat his office had set up a team to look into the Time
\nallegations.<\/p>\n
Ghalib, who was assigned by President B.J. Habibie to
\ninvestigate allegations of corrupt practices by the former
\npresident, said the team would summon the magazine's writers,
\nincluding its Indonesia-based reporter Jason Tedjasukmana.<\/p>\n
He said however that he doubted the accuracy of the report,
\nespecially on the alleged $9 billion fund transfer to Austria.<\/p>\n
Ghalib, who has been widely criticized for dragging his feet
\nin the investigation, insisted his mandate only covered wealth
\nunder Soeharto's name, not his children's gains.<\/p>\n
He said the government's own hunt for Soeharto's wealth
\nabroad, through Indonesian embassies, had not found anything.<\/p>\n
\"There are no (assets) owned by Soeharto, (although) there are
\nassets under his children's names,\" Ghalib said, quoting a report
\nby Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.<\/p>\n
Alatas however corrected Ghalib's statement, saying that
\nIndonesian embassies did not have access to foreign banks because
\nthey did not have the legal authority to investigate the case.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot trace them unless we are able to meet several
\nrequirements, for instance, the person (Soeharto) has been tried
\nor named a suspect in an investigation,\" Alatas said, adding that
\nhis ministry found houses owned by the Soehartos in London
\nbecause they were put up for sale.<\/p>\n
Reporters accompanying Soeharto to the Asia Pacific Economic
\nForum (APEC) summit in Vancouver, Canada, in Nov. 1997, recalled
\na one-hour stopover in Zurich on the flight home. Soeharto stayed
\non the plane, but Alatas and then Minister\/State Secretary
\nMoerdiono left the airport during the stopover. Moerdiono told
\nsuspicious journalists that they just went out for a coffee.<\/p>\n
Minister of Justice Muladi said the government should thank
\nTime magazine for the articles, if they were accurate.<\/p>\n
\"If they are not accurate, the magazine must be held
\naccountable,\" Muladi said. (prb\/emb)<\/p>",
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