Global fight against corruption

By Judo Poerwowidagdo

JAKARTA (JP): The international talks on corruption in The Hague, the Netherlands, recognized that corruption is a criminal act which happens not only in developing countries of the south, but in all countries.

This recognition, raised in the second Global Forum on Anti- Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity held from May 28 through May 31, is important to uphold the commitment of the international community to fight corruption.

Of particular interest was the last plenary session in which the Ugandan minister of ethics and integrity, Miria Matembe, called on the western nations to be seriously committed in fighting corruption, and challenged these governments to help efforts to return, to the respective governments, the stolen funds by corrupt government leaders from Africa and other countries.

The funds, she said, were deposited in banks, among others, in Switzerland, Austria, Guernsey Island (in the English Channel), the Isle of Mann, the Bahamas, etc.. This appeal reminds us of the Nyanga Declaration, issued by representatives of Transparency International from 11 African countries in early March, which called for the repatriation of Africa's stolen wealth.

The Nyanga Declaration on the Recovery and Repatriation of African Wealth Illegally Appropriated and Banked or Invested Abroad, among others, declared:

"That it is not only illegal, but blatantly immoral that so much wealth stolen from some of the world's poorest countries is allowed to circulate freely in the economies of some of the world's wealthiest nations in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and diverse offshore havens."

Furthermore, the Declaration stated, "That the international community, under the auspices of the United Nations, should as a matter of priority, adopt a treaty to expedite the tracing, recovery and repatriation of wealth stolen from developing countries and transferred abroad, including sealing of all known loopholes, requiring banks to open their books for inspection where there is reasonable cause to suspect illegal activity, and mandatory liquidation and repatriation of assets known to have been corruptly acquired."

These issues should come to our attention as the House of Representatives (DPR) is considering the establishment of an Independent Commission for the Eradication of Corruption. According to the Anti-Corruption Law No. 31, 1999, this commission should be established by August 2001.

Members of this new commission should be chosen from honest, steadfast and impeccable people. To be effective the commission needs a strong legal base. It should have the power to investigate and conduct public hearings. It may be advisable to learn from the experience of other nations, such as the experience of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which dealt with human rights violations.

We can adapt such a commission whereby people committing the corruption could voluntarily come and confess their crime during commission hearings. Repentance must then follow, which should be proven by returning the corrupted money to the public treasury.

Those who confess, repent, and return the money they corrupted, should be guaranteed amnesty and thus live in peace.

Meanwhile the public should also be prepared to accept such confession to able to forgive such people. In the meantime, during the period assigned to the commission, say, three years, a new strict law on corruption should be passed by the DPR.

Under the new anticorruption law, the much talked-about principle of reversed proof should be applied. Those suspected of major corruption would have to prove that their wealth is legitimate.

This method may well be the best to solve corruption. Otherwise, we will never get any solution to the problem, because too many people in the legal system and in the law enforcement offices are either directly or indirectly implicated.

Unfortunately, the Indonesian government does not seem to be adequately concerned with its corruption, which has grown in the last 40 years. Corruption at all levels in the public and private sector is so widespread and systematic, partly because some laws tend to protect corrupters through its weakness.

It is public secret that many law enforcement officers, including those in the judiciary, are as corrupt as other officials. The business sector is no better, if even worse. Therefore, it is very difficult to persecute any accused corrupter.

We know, although it is hard to prove, that much of the public funds, from loans or grants from overseas donor agencies, have been siphoned off and deposited in many overseas banks. The government, so far, has not been able to trace these funds, partially because of suspected involvement of officials.

The Final Declaration issued by ministers and government representatives at the above global forum stated: "We are all deeply concerned about the spread of corruption, which is a virus capable of crippling governments, discrediting public institutions and private corporations, and thus undermining society and its development, affecting in particular the poor."

This second global forum was attended by over 1,200 participants, representing 142 government officials and non- governmental organizations. It was organized by the Netherlands government with the support of the United States government.

The second forum attracted more than double the number of countries represented in the first one in Washington DC (Feb. 24 through Feb. 26, 1999), indicating that many more countries recognize the importance of fighting corruption nationally and globally. The United Nations General Assembly recently decided to begin elaboration of an effective international legal instrument against corruption.

This should support national efforts against corruption and strengthen the ability of nations, including that of Indonesia, to cooperate in the fight against corruption.

The writer is rector of the Jakarta-based Kristen Krida Wacana University (UKRIDA) and a participant in the above global forum.