RI denies tsunami aid spent on Geneva villa

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government on Monday repudiated a report in a Swiss newspaper that tsunami relief funds were diverted to buy a luxurious house for the country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesman Yuri Thamrin said the funds to purchase a residence for its envoy in Geneva had been allocated in last year's state budget.

Le Matin newspaper reported in its Monday's edition that the purchase of the 9.6-million franc (US$8.1 million) villa in a plush district overlooking Lake Geneva looks inappropriate at a time when the rest of the world is still helping Indonesia, where about 220,000 people were believed dead after the tsunami.

The Indonesian envoy and his family will enjoy a large verandah overlooking a swimming pool, an immense park including a house for domestic servants, hothouses and a volleyball court, Le Matin said.

Yuri claimed that the Le Matin daily had falsely insinuated that millions of aid dollars raised by people around the world had been used to buy the palatial villa.

"The report insinuates that we are using disaster aid funding for the purchase of the residence and this is not at all the case," Yuri said as quoted by AFP.

"The funds to purchase the residence were not diverted from the foreign aid donated for tsunami relief, but were allocated in the 2004 state budget," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that the purchase of the villa had already been agreed up by the finance minister in October 2004 and the purchasing process was carried out months before Dec. 26, when the tsunami devastated Aceh and North Sumatra provinces.

"The purchase of the new house is an implementation of the ministry's plan stated in the 2004 budget," he reiterated.

The house located at 299 Rue de la capite, Collonge belle- rive, Vesenaz, Geneva will be occupied by Ambassador Makarim Wibisono, who is also current chairman of the UN Human Rights Commission.

He said that the state would not suffer losses due to the purchase as both the land and building would become an Indonesian asset.

He said the villa was necessary because the current residence did not have enough parking space.

Meanwhile, Deputy ambassador in Geneva Eddi Hariyadhi also explained that the house was bought long before the tsunami after several months of searching. He said the price was "normal" in terms of housing for diplomats and senior officials in a country like Switzerland.