Soedjono denies claim on foreign lawyer

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Soedjono C. Atmonegoro claimed yesterday that a relatively unknown local by the name of Yohanes Yacob had been hired as former president Soeharto's lawyer and that he had not appointed any foreign attorneys.

However serious questions remain about Yohanes' legal credentials after a background check revealed that his name was almost unknown in legal circles.

Soedjono made his statement in an apparent attempt to correct some media reports that he had met foreign lawyers hired by Soeharto.

The spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Barman Zahir, told The Jakarta Post that he was summoned by Soedjono yesterday morning and revealed Yohanes' name to prove his argument.

"Please notify the media to correct their reports saying that Soeharto has hired a foreign lawyer. He is not a foreigner, he is Indonesian," Soedjono was quoted by Barman as saying.

According to Barman, Soedjono did not give any details about Yohanes.

Soedjono himself was not available for comment.

The revelation came as a surprise to many as Yohanes' name is unheard of among prominent legal practitioners.

Attempts to track Yohanes down also proved almost fruitless as few people had heard of him. Many even raised serious doubts as to his true identity.

The chairmen of all three lawyer's organizations, Haryono Tjitrosoebono of the Indonesian Bar Association (IKADIN), Yan Apul from the Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI) and Yan Juanda Saputra from the Association of Indonesian Lawyers (IPHI) all told the Post that they had not heard of Yohanes.

"I can assure you that his name is not on IKADIN's list," Haryono said.

Juanda Saputra however said that friends in the Attorney General's Office had told him that Yohanes is the chairman of a little known legal aid office in Tebet, South Jakarta.

Soedjono admitted Thursday that he had met lawyers representing Soeharto. At the time he rushed off and refused to give further details.

Demonstrators and opposition leaders have been demanding that an investigation be conducted into whether Soeharto and his family accumulated wealth illegally while he was in power.

Separately yesterday, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan said he was not adverse to an investigation by the Attorney General's office into corruption under Soeharto.

"ABRI is part of the government. And the authority to conduct the investigation is the Attorney General's office," he told reporters. (byg/imn)