Geneva villa controversy hits home
Tony Hotland and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While the controversial purchase of a plush villa for Indonesia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, does not appear to have contravened any procedures, politicians and analysts nevertheless voiced consternation on Wednesday over the unfortunate timing of the move.
Legislator Djoko Susilo from the House of Representatives' defense and foreign affairs commission criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a number of grounds.
He said the ministry had not provided details of its proposed spending under the 2004 state budget and failed to inform the House of the purchase of the property, which is worth 9.6 million Swiss francs (US$8.7 million).
"The foreign ministry always gives just a short summary of its proposals and it's always very general in nature. They didn't mention any plan to buy the villa in their estimates last year, but I suppose the money was taken from the diplomatic spending account," he said.
Djoko, also a member of the House budget commission, added that the commission was also to blame for not strictly scrutinizing the ministry's budget estimates.
He said the ministry should have paid for the villa by installment, rather than paying the full price in cash. The ministry should also have taken into account the tsunami disaster last December, and the fact that it would people the opportunity to allege that the money had been diverted from the disaster relief aid.
"It was unfortunate timing. The ministry said they had to pay for the house immediately or lose the 500,000 Swiss franc deposit they had put down. But they should have negotiated to be allowed to pay it a few months later given the circumstances," said Djoko.
The government, he added, normally paid by installment when purchasing property aboard.
The luxurious villa was bought as the official residence for the Indonesian Ambassador in Geneva, Makarim Wibisono, after it was decided that the current residence was inadequate for entertaining guests.
The purchase attracted wide attention from the Swiss media, which highlighted the inappropriateness of the purchase at a time when Indonesia was going around cap in hand seeking aid to help the hundreds of thousands tsunami victims.
Indonesian officials have refuted the claim, saying the purchase was fully in line with the procedures and that the property was actually one of the less expensive villas in the area.
Despite the controversy, the foreign ministry is seeking Rp 175 billion (US$18.4 million) from the 2005 state budget to pay deposits on 10 new ambassadorial offices, including the construction of new offices in Geneva.
Also on Wednesday, analysts asked the government to clarify the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the villa to prevent the issue being used to tarnish the country's image.
"It's important for the government to quickly clarify the issue so it that it won't rebound on Indonesia abroad," Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said.
She agreed that Indonesia's representative needed a permanent residence in Geneva, which was regarded as being one of the most strategic diplomatic postings in the world.
Andi Widjajanto from the University of Indonesia's Center for International Studies agreed with Dewi, but added that the government would have to explain the benefits of buying such a costly property.
"The government must explain whether this luxurious residence will help improve our diplomatic effort in international forums, like the UN," he said.