U.S. agrees to help Indonesia with investigations

U.S. agrees to help Indonesia with investigations

By Budiman Moerdijat

NEW YORK (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid after a meeting
with U.S. President Bill Clinton here on Monday claimed that
Washington has agreed to assist Jakarta's investigations into
the wealth of former top Indonesian officials, including former
president Soeharto.

Abdurrahman said Clinton had given him assurances during their
meeting at the White House in Washington D.C. earlier in the day.

"Thank God there's a good response from the U.S. government
and he (Clinton) promised to give assistance through the U.S.
Center for the Study of Corruption," Abdurrahman told journalists
held shortly after his arrival in New York.

"I have met with representatives of the Center before in
Jakarta and they will visit Jakarta again in the near future," he
added.

The Indonesian Attorney General's Office is currently
conducting an investigation into the alleged abuse of power by
Soeharto which reportedly opened the way to amass wealth through
various foundations by the issuance of various rulings.

Abdurrahman has said that the information obtained from the
research agency would be used as evidence in court.

He reiterated, however, that if Soeharto is found guilty, then
he would be pardoned by the government.

"The Soeharto family has so far been asking me one big
question and I told Clinton this afternoon that the question is
whether there is a guarantee that Pak Harto will be treated well
if he returns his wealth to the state".

"I say that if they do want a guarantee, even a written one if
necessary, I will make it as soon as I return (to Jakarta)," Gus
Dur, as the President is popularly called, said.

Abdurrahman added that Soeharto would not even have to be
present in the courtroom if the trial eventually takes place.

"It is not necessary for him (Soeharto) to be present in
court, he could be represented by his lawyers and if he is found
guilty, the government will pardon him and I think the majority
of the nation agree with this," Abdurrahman said.

The President said that during the meeting Clinton also
expressed his support for Indonesia's territorial integrity.

"He (Clinton) said there will be too many countries in the
world if disputes within states are resolved through a
declaration of an independent state, army or flag," Abdurrahman
said.

Nearing the end of his briefing, in an apparent move to remind
Abdurrahman to add something in his statement, Foreign Minister
Alwi Shihab was heard whispering to the President: "He (Clinton)
said to you that (the U.S.) wants to see your administration
successful."

The President snapped back at Alwi, however, and said: "Let it
be, if we tell it to Indonesian journalists it would be useless."

Abdurrahman on Tuesday is scheduled to have breakfast at his
hotel with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He is
also due to meet with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
later in the day.

The president is then scheduled to leave for Paris on Tuesday
evening.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman on
Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that his office's questioning
of Soeharto due to increasingly incoherrent answers by the former
president.

"Don't worry, we will not drop the case because of it
(incoherent answers). We have gone this far ... we can't just
stop," Marzuki told journalists adding that the questioning was
part of the requirements needed to bring a case to court.

"We have to do the questionings, whatever the answers are," he
remarked. "Everything is on the right track, and we will submit
the case to court on July or August".

The Attorney General's Office has conducted seven questionings
on Soeharto and has posed around 100 questions over the former
president's foundations.

Soeharto's lawyers on Monday again claimed that their client
cannot be account for all his answers because he was losing his
memory after suffering a mild stroke last year.

They said that Soeharto has failed to answer all questions
posed on him because he has forgotten most things about his
foundations and even if he tries to, his answers were irrelevant
to the questions.