RI activists slam Wolfowitz nomination

RI activists slam Wolfowitz nomination

Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press/Jakarta

Paul Wolfowitz' candidacy for World Bank president has triggered
criticism from rights activists in Indonesia, where he served as
U.S. ambassador during Suharto's dictatorship but never spoke out
publicly against the regime's violent abuses or endemic
corruption.

Wolfowitz, considered the key architect of the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq, has been nominated by U.S. President George W.
Bush to succeed the outgoing bank president, James Wolfensohn.

International organizations and Third World countries -- the
main recipients of World Bank loans -- are questioning his
qualifications and commitment to international development.

Analysts in Indonesia, where Wolfowitz served as ambassador
during the military-backed government of former President Suharto
from 1986 to 1989, say the candidate has a poor track record in
other areas crucial to the World Bank, such as fighting graft and
respect for human rights.

"Of all former U.S. ambassadors, he was considered closest to
and most influential with Suharto and his family," said Abdul
Hakim Garuda Nusantara, head of the state-sponsored National
Commission on Human Rights.

"But he never showed interest in issues regarding
democratization or respect of human rights," said Hakim, who at
the time headed the Legal Aid Institute that defended dissidents
and sought to free political prisoners.

"Wolfowitz never once visited our offices."

"I also never heard him publicly mention corruption, not
once," he said.

At the time, thousands of leftists detained after the 1965
U.S.-backed military coup that brought Suharto to power were
still languishing in jail without trial. And tens of thousands of
people in East Timor -- a country Suharto's troops occupied in
1975 -- died during the 1980s in a series of army anti-insurgency
offensives.

During his 32-year reign, Suharto, his family and his military
and business cronies transformed Indonesia into one of the most
graft-ridden countries in the world, plundering an estimated
US$30 billion.

After being ousted in 1998 by pro-democracy protests, Suharto
was finally charged in 2000 with personally embezzling $600
million. The charges were dropped when judges ruled he was too
ill to go to trial.

Still, Wolfowitz publicly lauded the dictator, praising his
"strong and remarkable leadership" in congressional testimony.

Wolfowitz "never alluded to any concerns about the level of
corruption or the need for more transparency," said Binny
Buchori, director of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian
Development -- a coalition of 100 agencies promoting democracy in
Indonesia.

"He was an effective diplomat, but he gave no moral support
for dissidents," she said. "He went to East Timor and saw abuses
going on, but then kept quiet."

Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former foreign policy adviser to B.J.
Habibie, Suharto's successor as head of state, also agreed that
Wolfowitz was a competent and popular envoy.

"He was extremely able and very much admired and well-liked on
a personal level ... but he never intervened to push human rights
or stand up to corruption," she said.

"At the time, Washington didn't care too much about human
rights and democracy; it was still the Cold War and they were
only concerned about fighting communism."