Legal experts divided on 'Soeharto Inc.' lawsuit
JAKARTA (JP): Legal experts are divided on whether former president Soeharto should sue Time magazine in the Unites States or in Indonesia over its Soeharto Inc. cover story.
Loebby Loqman, a University of Indonesia law professor familiar with the Indonesian press law, believes that Soeharto should file the lawsuit with a U.S. court.
"Unlike in this country, there will be no bureaucratic or technical obstacles in filing the lawsuit in the United States," Loebby told the Jakarta Post by phone on Saturday.
He dismissed the suggestion that Soeharto would not stand a chance of beating Time in its home court because the U.S. legal system assured anyone a fair hearing.
"Let the U.S. court decide. The U.S. Constitution guarantees that any lawsuit will be treated equally and fairly," he said.
Communication law expert Andi Muis, however, said that Soeharto has a greater chance of winning his case against Time in an Indonesian court.
Andi, a law professor at Hasanuddin University in Ujungpandang, described filing a lawsuit against Time in the United States as "not a very smart thing to do".
He recalled that Adam Malik, Indonesia's vice president for 1978-1983, filed a lawsuit against the Washington Post for publishing an article accusing him of smuggling weaponry into Indonesia. "The case was filed with a U.S. court. But, it was totally ignored," Andi told the Post by phone on Friday.
The Time Asia edition ran a cover story this week on the former Indonesian strongman, suggesting that he and his family had built up a fortune of US$15 billion abroad, including $9 billion that was transferred from a Swiss bank to an Austrian bank a few days after Soeharto resigned from office in May last year.
Soeharto and his lawyers have threatened to launch civil and criminal actions against Time, saying that the articles were libelous. The magazine has until Monday to furnish them with evidence to substantiate the articles before the lawyers proceed with legal action. Time Asia editor Donald Morrison, in his response, said the magazine took note of the objections but stressed that it stands by its story.
Andi said that Soeharto's options in an Indonesian court were limited.
The only charge Soeharto could slap the magazine's editors with would be for "disseminating hatred", he said, citing articles 310, 311 and 312 of the Criminal Code. Soeharto could also resort to civil recourse, and demand compensation under article 1365 of the Civil Code, he said.
Andi, however, said the best recourse for Soeharto would be outside the legal channels, that is to use his right of reply in the magazine.
"Seriously, I think Soeharto does not stand a chance in any court. But his lawyers will certainly get very rich," he said.
A trial would force Time to present the evidence in court and this could be damaging to Soeharto, he said.
In an Indonesian court, Time might be compelled to disclose its sources who had provided the information regarding Soeharto's wealth.
"Every allegation has to be backed up with documented evidence. I believe Time can provide this," Andi said. "I am quite pessimistic that Soeharto will win the case, if it ever goes to trial," he added.
Fikri Jufri, general manager of Tempo weekly, said a journalist should never disclose his sources. "A good journalist would never reveal the identity of his sources to anyone, especially if doing so would endanger the sources."
Fikri, whose Tempo has also been aggressive in investigative journalism, said the lesson from this controversy is that the Indonesian government should find its own sources of information in investigating the wealth of the former president.
If Indonesia was really serious about the investigation, it should involve the U.S. government in the process. "The information on the transfer of Soeharto's funds to Vienna came from a source in the U.S. Treasury Department. This has become a government-to-government thing," Fikri said.
"The government should get the president of the United States to intervene," he added.
Meanwhile, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais said the government's investigation should begin with an inquiry into the wealth of Soeharto's children.
"Soeharto would not have kept any money in bank accounts bearing his name. He must have kept it under other persons' names," he told reporters at Juanda Airport, Surabaya, on his way to Malang for an election campaign rally.
Amien said an investigation of Soeharto's children would likely lead to the discovery of corruption, collusion and nepotistic practices during the years Soeharto was in power.
"Soeharto's children could not have become billionaires without the help of their father," he said. (ylt/nur/imn)