AGO ignores court decision

We deplore the questionable legal stance of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) for its deliberate ignorance to acknowledge who are really the former shareholders of the now defunct Bank Surya who should be held accountable for the emergency liquidity credit the bank got from Bank Indonesia.

The Master Shareholder Settlement and Acquisition Agreement on Bank Surya debts clearly stipulates the names of the signatories to the agreement who are responsible for the debts and none of them is our client Bambang Sutrisno. Yet the AGO tended to blame our client, treating him as if he was the culprit.

We therefore urge the Legal Council, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency and the Financial Sector Policy Committee to announce to the public the names of the debtors under the Settlement of Former Problem Banks' Shareholders Debts (PKPS) so that law enforcement agencies cannot manipulate data on debtors in an attempt to blackmail innocent people.

We also see it as a mockery of the law on the part of the AGO for its refusal to execute the Nov. 21, 2001 decision of the Jakarta Administrative Court to lift the travel ban on our client, Bambang Sutrisno, despite a strong reminder from the court on Feb. 2, 2002.

For the AGO to completely ignore the decision of the Jakarta Administrative Court along with the reminder note to lift the travel ban on our client is absolutely a blatant insult to the rule of law in the country.

PRIHARTONO & PARTNERS

Attorneys and Counselors at Law

Jakarta