Soeharto's children are in Indonesia: Probosutedjo

Soeharto's children are in Indonesia: Probosutedjo

JAKARTA (JP): All of Soeharto's six children are in Jakarta
and intend to continue with their business activities without the
special privileges they once enjoyed, a close relative of the
former president said yesterday.

Businessman Probosutedjo, Soeharto's half-brother, said in an
interview with Antara that the whole family still routinely got
together at Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana in Central
Jakarta.

"I saw them dining together in Jl. Cendana the night before
Soeharto decided to quit," said the owner of the diversified
Mercu Buana business group.

"They were all there. Bambang, Sigit, Tutut, Tommy. Even
Tommy's wife, who is expecting, was there," he recalled.

Bambang Trihatmodjo is the owner of the Bimantara Group;
Tommy, or Hutomo Mandala Putra, heads the Humpus Group; while
Tutut, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana's nickname, owns the diversified
Citra Group.

The other three -- Sigit Hardjojudanto, Siti Hediati and Siti
Hutami Endang Adiningsih -- also have business interests.

Probosutedjo dispelled rumors suggesting that all of them had
left Indonesia.

Hardijanti, who was minister of social services in the last
cabinet, accompanied the widowed Soeharto to the State Palace
when he announced his decision to step down. She was dropped from
the new cabinet announced by President B.J. Habibie on Friday.

There had been rumors that Soeharto's children and
grandchildren had fled the country in the days leading up to
their father's resignation on Thursday.

Probosutedjo said Soeharto had asked his children, who were
abroad, to return home and stay in Jakarta.

He said he had talked to family members and they appeared calm
and stated an intention to continue with their business
activities.

They all realized that they were no longer the children of the
president who used to enjoy special privileges. "They will become
ordinary entrepreneurs, without privileges. They are aware of
this," Probosutedjo said.

He said he himself fell victim to vicious rumors about fleeing
the country. "My business partners in Saudi Arabia phoned me up
to check on me. Well, here I am giving this interview."

Probosutedjo said he had been in constant contact, right up to
the last moment, with Soeharto on the night before he made his
decision to step down, keeping him abreast with the rapidly
changing condition in the country.

Probosutedjo said he visited Jl. Cendana several times that
night. "He made the decision to prevent greater chaos in
Indonesia," he said.

"As his brother, I am saddened to see ministers who were his
aides turn against him. I guess that's human nature," he said,
adding that such behavior had worsened Soeharto's plight.

When asked to comment on the demands to try Soeharto,
Probosutedjo said he did not think it would be constitutionally
correct given that Soeharto had only served two months of his
latest term in office

"He had already given his report of accountability for his
previous term in office to the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR). And this report was accepted by the MPR," he said.

Probosutedjo also denied rumors that the former president had
funds stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

He said that based on his observation, Swiss banks were
reluctant to accept money from heads of state if the money's
origin was not clear. "Swiss banks have had it in dealing with
dubious assets from heads of state."

From Zurich, the Swiss Federal Justice and Police Ministry
said they had no indication that Soeharto had any money in Swiss
bank accounts, Reuters reported Friday.

"The Federal Justice and Police Ministry simply has no
concrete information at the moment about any assets held by the
Soeharto family in Switzerland," ministry spokesman Viktor
Schlumpf told Swiss television DRS.

Switzerland's top bank regulator last week said he doubted
Soeharto had significant accounts in the country.

Schlumpf said the Swiss government would need an official
request from Indonesia before it could order banks to freeze any
Soeharto assets.

He had been asked by a DRS reporter whether Swiss authorities
were ready to freeze Soeharto assets, as they did with accounts
of Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 after he was
ousted in a peaceful revolution.

The Swiss government can only act if a foreign government asks
for help in reclaiming money or if such a request is believed to
be imminent.

Schlumpf said his ministry thought it was unlikely that the
new Indonesian government would move to claim Soeharto assets
abroad because it is led by a Soeharto ally, new President
Habibie.

"It is less likely for the moment because the same team is in
power in Indonesia," Schlumpf said.

Switzerland's top bank regulator last week said he doubted
Soeharto had significant accounts in the country because Swiss
banks had become cautious about political leaders of developing
nations after years of bad publicity over the Marcos fortune.

Legal wrangling over who should get the Marcos Swiss accounts
totaling over US$500 million is only now nearing an end after the
Swiss supreme court ruled that the money should be returned to
the Philippines for courts there to distribute. (emb)