Soeharto threatens to sue `Time'

Soeharto threatens to sue `Time'

JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto threatened to sue Time
magazine on Wednesday for suggesting he and his family had
amassed a $15 billion fortune in the 32 years he was in power.

Topnotch lawyers representing Indonesia's former strongman
wrote a "warning letter" to Time's Hong Kong correspondent John
Colmey, demanding he provide evidence to support the claims.

The allegations were made in articles which appeared in Time's
Asia edition this week.

"We would like to emphasize herewith that your reports
regarding his valid accounts abroad are absolutely not true, and
that is nothing than a false report, which has defamed and
humiliated our client," the letter said, copies of which were
distributed to journalists.

"Failing to supply us with your supporting legal evidence by
at the latest May 24, 1999, shall cause us to take the requisite
legal actions, either civil or criminal."

The letter was signed by eight lawyers -- Juan Felix
Tampubolon, O.C. Kaligis, Denny Kailimang, Mohammad Assegaf,
Indriyanto Seno Adji, Aibrah Said, Syamsul Hadi and Victor S.
Siregar -- after they met with Soeharto earlier in the day.

In an accompanying statement, the lawyers said Soeharto's
property should be differentiated from holdings of his children
or relatives.

"Soeharto does not own any kind of asset abroad in any form,
be they in cash, stocks, real estate and jewelry as alleged by
Time.

"Soeharto never transferred $9 billion from a Swiss bank to
Austria in May 1998. The Time article did not mention the name of
the banks in Switzerland or Austria, or the name of the
recipient."

The lawyers said they were considering filing lawsuits against
Time magazine for "attacking the integrity and good name of our
client, an act that could be qualified as slander and tarnishing
a person's reputation".

The magazine, with a cover story titled "Soeharto Inc",
reached Indonesian readers on Wednesday, but many people had read
the articles since Monday by accessing the Time Internet site.

Colmey told The Jakarta Post by phone from Hong Kong that
information in the articles was solid. "We stand by the story."

He refused further comment, saying the matter would be taken
up by Time magazine lawyers.

Soeharto was forced to resign by the force of "people's power"
a year ago this Friday.

Reports from Austria suggested a massive transfer of funds
from Switzerland a few days after Soeharto's resignation, but the
ownership of the money was never revealed.

"Time has learned that $9 billion of Soeharto money was
transferred from Switzerland to a nominee bank account in
Austria. Not bad for a man whose presidential salary was $1,764 a
month when he left office," the investigative report said.

It estimated that Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti
Rukmana, owned about $700 million, son Sigit Harjoyudanto $800
million, son Bambang Trihatmodjo $3 billion, daughter Siti
Hediati Hariyadi $75 million, son Hutomo Mandala Putra $800
million and daughter Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih, $30 million.

All six children were active in business during Soeharto's
rein, and many received privileges and special concessions, such
as monopoly rights and easy access to state credit.

Separately, Attorney General Lt. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib announced
that his office had set up a team to look into the Time
allegations.

Ghalib, who was assigned by President B.J. Habibie to
investigate allegations of corrupt practices by the former
president, said the team would summon the magazine's writers,
including its Indonesia-based reporter Jason Tedjasukmana.

He said however that he doubted the accuracy of the report,
especially on the alleged $9 billion fund transfer to Austria.

Ghalib, who has been widely criticized for dragging his feet
in the investigation, insisted his mandate only covered wealth
under Soeharto's name, not his children's gains.

He said the government's own hunt for Soeharto's wealth
abroad, through Indonesian embassies, had not found anything.

"There are no (assets) owned by Soeharto, (although) there are
assets under his children's names," Ghalib said, quoting a report
by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas.

Alatas however corrected Ghalib's statement, saying that
Indonesian embassies did not have access to foreign banks because
they did not have the legal authority to investigate the case.

"We cannot trace them unless we are able to meet several
requirements, for instance, the person (Soeharto) has been tried
or named a suspect in an investigation," Alatas said, adding that
his ministry found houses owned by the Soehartos in London
because they were put up for sale.

Reporters accompanying Soeharto to the Asia Pacific Economic
Forum (APEC) summit in Vancouver, Canada, in Nov. 1997, recalled
a one-hour stopover in Zurich on the flight home. Soeharto stayed
on the plane, but Alatas and then Minister/State Secretary
Moerdiono left the airport during the stopover. Moerdiono told
suspicious journalists that they just went out for a coffee.

Minister of Justice Muladi said the government should thank
Time magazine for the articles, if they were accurate.

"If they are not accurate, the magazine must be held
accountable," Muladi said. (prb/emb)