Lawyers claim Soeharto's name already ruined

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers of the New York-based Time magazine told the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday that the good name of former president Soeharto had already been ruined way before the weekly published its Soeharto Inc. story in its May 24, 1999 edition.

Presenting a bulk of copies of the stories, pictures and caricatures from several tabloids, weeklies, dailies and books as evidence, the lawyers from the Lubis, Santosa and Maulana Law office therefore dismissed Soeharto's allegation that Time had insulted his good name through its report.

"A negative impression against former president Soeharto's reputation was widely felt by the public, way before the magazine ran the story on May 24," said the lawyers in a 50-page defense statement for their client.

The lawyers, including Todung Mulya Lubis and Lelyana Santosa, read the statement in turns before a hearing at the court presided over by judge Sihol Sitompul.

On the other side of the courtroom, a group of lawyers, including Denny Kailimang, Juan Felix Tampubolon and O.C. Kaligis, sat in line representing the country's former strongman.

According to Time's defense lawyers, many media, both locally and overseas, had often published stories which accused the former president of alleged corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) practices during his 32-year reign.

Soeharto's lawyers earlier accused the magazine of violating Article 1372 of the Civil Law for casting aspersions against someone's honor and good name.

"The bad reputation of the former president has become public knowledge with the publication of the stories. So, his good name was tarnished long before Time ran the story," one of the magazine's lawyers said.

Among the stories and caricatures from local publications that were shown by the lawyers as evidence for their defense were those which ran in the Merdeka and Kompas dailies, the Detak, Vokal, and Oposisi tabloids and Gamma and Panji Masyarakat magazines.

The overseas publications included stories published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal.

All of the articles and caricatures were published between 1998 and early 1999.

On the cover of a Vokal tabloid issue late last year, for example, Soeharto was depicted as a wrestler, bare-chested, with a tattoo on his upper arm and a sword in his hand.

The picture ran with the title Soeharto Balas Dendam -- 7 Kota Rusuh -- Cendana Buru Pusaka Pakai Hercules (Soeharto's Revenge -- Chaos in 7 Cities -- Cendana (Soeharto's family) Hunting Treasure with Hercules' chopper).

In response to Soeharto's lawyers' statement, which accused the magazine of publishing false reports, Time's lawyers insisted that their client had adhered to international standard press procedures by covering both sides in its report.

"The magazine's reporters tried to contact the former president and members of his family on the allegation that he transferred US$9 billion from Switzerland to an Austrian bank, but they refused to talk," said the lawyer.

But the magazine ran remarks from Soeharto's side in the form of a statement from his lawyers, they said.

"The magazine published Soeharto's lawyers' version in a story (it the same issue) entitled The Lawyer: Not One Cent Abroad," Time's lawyers said.

Soeharto filed the civil lawsuit against the weekly last July demanding $27 billion and a US$40,000 fine for immaterial and material losses respectively, as compensation for its allegedly slanderous article stating that he and his family had amassed a $15 billion fortune during his 32-year tenure.

During Wednesday's trial session, Time's lawyers also asserted that Soeharto's demand for compensation was "too fantastic", "outrageous" and "illogical".

"Is the amount of $27 billion representing the 27 provinces in Indonesia, so that when he wins this trial he (Soeharto) would distribute $1 billion to each of the provinces?"

Judge Sihol adjourned the trial session to Jan. 18 to hear statements from Soeharto's lawyers.

Through the lawsuit, Soeharto's lawyers stated that the magazine had published untruths and had insulted Soeharto's good name.

The lawsuit named Time Inc. Asia, based in Hong Kong, as the first defendant. Also named were Time's Asia editor-in-chief Donald Morrison, Hong Kong bureau chief John Colmey and reporters David Liebhold, Lisa Rose Weaver, Zamira Lubis and Jason Tedjasukmana. (asa)