Leaked conversation is mostly obscure
Leaked conversation is mostly obscure
JAKARTA (JP): The content of a purported conversation between
President B.J. Habibie and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib --
leaked by a number of media on Thursday -- did not appear to have
compromised either official or state secrets for that matter.
Based on a transcript printed by Pandji Masyarakat, the
conversation appeared vague, full of incomplete sentences and
interruptions -- typical in telephone talks. The sentences were
at times incomprehensible to anyone but the two persons involved.
Essentially, the person who sounded like Habibie was asking
questions about the progress of investigations against Jusuf
Wanandi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and
oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro, two staunch critics of the President.
They discussed arrangements which Ghalib had made for the
investigation of former president Soeharto -- whom both men
reverently referred to as Bapak (father).
They concurred that the investigation should continue rather
than allowing him to be tried by the "people's court".
The person purported to be Ghalib explained his unsuccessful
attempt to deceive the public about the venue for the Soeharto
investigation, because it was announced on TVRI in the morning.
Soeharto's questioning -- on Dec. 9 -- lasted three hours,
compared to seven or eight hours for some of his cronies like
tycoon 'Bob' Hasan. "If we had held it for only two hours, people
would be wondering what other comedy we were staging," the man
who sounded like Ghalib said, according to the transcript.
Ghalib and Habibie have been accused of dragging their feet in
investigating Soeharto and of diverting public attention by
launching investigations against some of the government's
staunchest critics like Panigoro.
Based on the replay of the tape by ANteve on Thursday, the
voices sounded like Habibie and Ghalib, indicating that it was
either authentic, or it was the work of a truly great
impersonator.
Media attention turned to Butet Kertarejasa, who has the rare
talent of impersonating major public figures. His victims in the
past have included Soeharto, Habibie and House speaker Harmoko.
But in an interview with the state radio Pro2FM on Thursday,
Butet said the voice in the recording did not reflect his style.
"If I were to do it, I would affect style and accents and
whatnot, in a theatrical fashion," he said, as reported by
Antara. (emb)