Police conclude 'Time' report defames Soeharto

Police conclude 'Time' report defames Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): An officer of the National Police concluded on
Tuesday that a Time magazine report about the former first
family's wealth on May 24 was libelous and defamatory to former
president Soeharto.

"Examination and analysis we heard from several experts in
linguistics, legal affairs and magazine graphic design show that
there is a libelous aspect in the report," Col. Makbul
Padmanagara, chief detective of the general crimes unit, said.

The police will proceed with the investigation by summoning
other witnesses "soon", he said, refusing to elaborate.

"Our investigation will only be stopped if Soeharto pulls out
and drops his complaints to us against Time," Makbul said.

In the past, a police announcement that a case could go to
trial has marked the completion of their investigations.

The Time Asia edition ran a cover story headlined "Suharto
Inc." claiming the former president and his family had stashed a
US$15 billion fortune abroad. The magazine claimed the amount
included a $9 billion account at an Austrian bank that was
transferred from a Swiss bank shortly after Soeharto's forced
resignation in May last year.

In connection with the investigation, the police summoned
Jason Tedjasukmana, a Time correspondent here, for questioning at
police headquarters on Tuesday.

Accompanied by the magazine's lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, Jason
was grilled for almost two and a half hours and was asked 19
questions about the controversial report.

"Jason is a witness for the offense believed by the police to
have been committed by chief editor of Time Asia," Todung said,
referring to Donald Morrison, who has been named a suspect.

To the police detectives, Jason explained his job description
as collecting material for the report and also accompanying the
magazine's Hong Kong correspondent to interview then attorney
general Andi M. Ghalib, Todung said.

A stringer for the magazine, Zamira Ellyana Loebis, was also
summoned for questioning as a witness last week.

After Tuesday's questioning, however, Todung said Zamira was a
witness for the crime believed by the police to have been
committed by Time's chief editors in New York.

Jason and Zamira were two of the six staffers to contribute
reports for the alleged libelous 14-page cover story.

Time would always be cooperative with the police
investigation, Todung said, dismissing rumors that the Time
correspondents here would leave the country to avoid police
questioning.

However, Todung said Soeharto's complaint to the police was
groundless.

"In democratic countries, public figures -- mostly politicians
and statesmen -- hardly have the rights to sue mass media, which
is considered to be a social control institution," he said.

If they objected to media reports on them, they could file
complaints with the magazines or newspapers and would not
immediately regard them as criminal offenses, he said.

Soeharto, who is currently being treated at Pertamina Hospital
for a mild stroke, lodged a complaint with police against the
magazine in early June, and later filed a civil lawsuit demanding
compensation of $12 billion at the Jakarta Administrative Court.
(emf)