Dissident George returns home

JAKARTA (JP): Sociologist George Junus Aditjondro returned home on Sunday for the first time since moving to Australia in 1995 after he fell foul of the Soeharto regime.

Jubilant activists hoisted him up on their shoulders after he left the arrival gate at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

George, 52, had told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that he was invited by the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) to speak at a conference.

He was wanted in 1994 by Yogyakarta police on charges of slandering then president Soeharto. The government had contacted Interpol on the possibility of bringing him home to face the charges, but on Sunday there was no sign of police attempting to make an arrest.

George is best known for his research on the wealth of the political elite, including former president Soeharto and President B.J. Habibie. He is also a noted scholar of East Timor.

Currently teaching a course on the sociology of corruption at Newcastle University, he told reporters at the airport that Soeharto was trying to dupe the nation with his recent denials of great wealth.

George, who was dismissed from Central Java's Satya Wacana University in 1995 when he was put on the police wanted list, also blasted the government inquiry into Soeharto's assets as "cosmetic".

"What we see now is that the whole Habibie government, from the president down to the attorney general, is being fooled by Soeharto."

Soeharto must be investigated by the police, meaning he should be summoned as a suspect for violating the corruption law, he said.

George said he would use his week-long visit to evaluate the sense of democracy in the country and visit his family in Semarang. (aan)