Phone tapping report leads to uproar

Phone tapping report leads to uproar

JAKARTA (JP): An uproar has ensued following reports of the
tapping of a purported telephone conversation between President
B.J. Habibie and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib as observers
expressed concern over what they said was a crude political ploy.

Meanwhile others urged the public and the government to focus
on the investigation of former president Soeharto.

Substance aside, politician Sarwono Kusumaatmadja lashed out
on Friday at "an unethical political ploy."

It would be detrimental to the institution of government, both
now and in the future, as it would be the government that the
public would perceive as the institution most capable of doing
such a thing, he argued.

H.S. Dillon, a member of the National Commission on Human
Rights, said that if the transcript was real it was really a
blatant abuse of the presidential power to eliminate political
opponents before the upcoming election.

"It is an egregious abuse of the state power against citizens
who are promoting democracy," Dillon added in referring to the
portion of the transcript purportedly relating to the
investigation of Arifin Panigoro and Sofyan Wanandi.

Violence

"The revelation of the transcript, if true, makes us greatly
apprehensive that there is to be more violence in the run-up to
the June 7 election, and that the polls might be degraded largely
by money politics," he said.

Sarwono told the media that such a political ploy was "playing
with fire" because it would be never ending.

"It, the phone tapping, is no news really... it used to be
used against pro-democracy activists of non-governmental
organizations... now it's being used against the President.

"As a technology wizard, Habibie should have known better how
communications technology might be used in politics," Sarwono
said.

According to the former environment minister, the country
needed a special law with effective implementation to regulate
phonetapping.

"For instance, it should be legalized by the courts and should
be carried out by authoritative state bodies whose affairs should
be held accountable," he said.

Otherwise, it would not only have impact on the government's
credibility but also would ruin the country's entire economy as
business players, for fear of being found out, would lose trust.

Ethical issue

Sarwono declined to comment on the substance of the tapped
conversation, saying: "This is an ethical issue... no unethical
political play should mar a legal political power play".

The controversial taped conversation was published in the
latest edition of Panji Masyarakat weekly, but actually also saw
publication in January in a lesser known paper, the BK tabloid.

Voices sounding like Habibie's and Ghalib's indicated that
they were discussing the progress of investigations into "Jusuf
Wanandi" and oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro, two staunch critics of
the President. Businessman Sofyan Wanandi, not Jusuf, has been
implicated in a bank-related case.

They discussed arrangements which Ghalib had made for the Dec.
9 investigation of former president Soeharto -- whom both men
reverently referred to as Bapak (father).

The published transcript suggested that they concurred that
the investigation should continue rather than allowing him to be
tried by a "people's court".

Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said
the alleged conversation showed that there was currently a
coherent political strategy to protect Soeharto.

"The substance we can determine from the conversation is that
the inquiries into Soeharto are aimed only at pacifying the angry
people who are demanding Soeharto's trial," he said in
Yogyakarta.

Rivals

He said the case was similar to the tapping by former U.S.
president Richard Nixon in 1970s of his political rivals. "The
difference in Habibie's case is that the tapping was carried out
by his political rivals," he said.

Ichlasul Amal, rector of the University of Gadjah Mada
suggested the target in the disclosure of the tapping was
Habibie's group because of the impression that his government was
not serious in its investigation of Soeharto.

"The tapping was disclosed to weaken Habibie's position and to
damage his public image," he said.

Criminologist Mulyana W. Kusumah said that if seen from the
legal point of view the tapping was against the 1964
telecommunications law and the culprit could be punished
according to the law.

"If the tapping is seen to have leaked state secrets, the
agent is liable to the death sentence. But if it is seen only as
an ordinary crime, the agent will be punished lightly," he said.

He insisted that it was very difficult to arrest the tapping
agent because a telephone conversation could be tapped both
outside the presidential office and the Attorney General's
Office. (aan/rms/vin/23)