Winters wants Ghalib to pursue Freeport probe

Winters wants Ghalib to pursue Freeport probe

JAKARTA (JP): American scholar Jeffrey Winters called on
Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib on Friday to pursue
investigations into alleged corruption in mining giant PT
Freeport Indonesia.

Winters, an associate professor at the Northwestern University
in Chicago, was questioned for more than three hours at the
Attorney General's Office over his accusation of corrupt
practices in the company.

"The investigation was started by an external party, so it is
actually the duty of the Attorney General's Office to continue
the investigation," Winters said after the questioning.

He was accompanied by his lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis.

Winters alleged last October that Coordinating Minister for
Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, while
serving as minister of mines and energy, had profited handsomely
from the renewal of Freeport's contract of work.

Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who accompanied Winters, said the
only thing his client said in October was that "the renewal of
Freeport's contract of work raised questions".

Winters left for the United States shortly after the
questioning.

"Everything went smoothly at the airport because Winters is
not included on the list of people barred from leaving the
country," Todung told The Jakarta Post.

Winters, who arrived here on Sunday to launch the Indonesian
translations of his books Power In Motion and The New Order's
Political Sins, said earlier that he had based his allegations on
material provided by the research group Econit, which is headed
by noted economist Rizal Ramli.

Ginandjar, however, denied the allegations and provided the
Attorney General's Office with information to contradict the
claim. Chief executive officer of U.S. Freeport McMoRan Copper
and Gold. Inc., James Moffett, who was questioned by the Attorney
General's Office in November, also denied the allegations.

The allegations concern the sales of some 10 percent of
Freeport shares to the Bakrie Group in 1991.

Leading human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman rebuked the
police on Wednesday for naming Winters as a suspect. He said the
public would begin to question whether there was truth in
Winters' statement and Ginandjar would be adversely affected.

Separately, Teten Masduki of Indonesian Corruption Watch said
on Wednesday that naming Winters a suspect would make the public
fearful to uncover corrupt practices.

"The move against Winters is only to divert public attention
from the alleged corruption in Freeport," Teten said. (byg)