---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Dengan mengClick banner sponsor anda menyumbang Rp. 1000,- untuk HomePage IndoNews. ---------------------------------------------------------- Indonesian Observer March 25, 1999 Lawyer slams warrant against Jeffrey Winters JAKARTA (IO) A suspect warrant served on American academic Jeffrey Winters, compelling him to undergo police questioning into his alleged slander of economics czar Ginandjar Kartasasmita is an overreaction, his lawyer announced yesterday. Todung Mulya Lubis confirmed that Winters was wanted for questioning by police after allegedly slandering Ginandjar, the coordinating minister for economy, finance and industry, in a visit to Indonesia last year. Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar at the University of Indonesia in Depok yesterday, Lubis explained the contentious statements made by Winters were exactly the same as those he had used at a World Bank meeting dealing with corruption, collusion and nepotism. According to Winters lawyer, the controversial statements were supposed to be viewed in the spirit of reformation in which Indonesia s elected representatives are expected to accept the opinions of others. "They should all be able to disprove the charges [of corruption and incompetence] factually, with clear explanations," Lubis said. Lubis explained that Winters had been asked to present at the Attorney General s Office with evidence concerning corruption charges against PT Freeport Indonesia, and its dealings with former president Soeharto and Ginandjar. "The government, through the Attorney General s Office, should follow up the issue, collecting more information and evidence on the corruption allegations. Instead, they ve done just the opposite by attacking the person who tried to reveal the facts," Lubis said. He went on to explain that Winters had intended to present the Attorney General s Office with evidence connecting the former president to a number of serious financial violations. This evidence, he claimed, was compiled by Econit and the Wall Street Journal, and concerned allegations of corruption by PT Freeport McMoran, and Soeharto s overseas wealth. Police Rights Justice Minister Muladi meanwhile denied that police had been ordered to issue a suspect warrant on Winters by the government. "The government didn t interfere in the police s decision to issue a suspect warrant for Winters," Muladi said. The minister went on to defend the police, explaining that they had a right to look into Winters remarks, without complaint. "He is accused of insulting someone. This is a warrant complaint offense, as laid down in the Criminal Code s Article 316: a law drawn up to protect government officials from insults. So, with or without a Ginandjar s complaint, the police have a right to take the measure of the accusation," Muladi said. He also confirmed that the Justice Ministry was ready to issue a travel ban on Winters if the related ministry required it. "If it is deemed necessary, the Justice Ministry will issue a travel ban for him," Muladi warned. Muladi did however express respect for Winters, having returned to Indonesia despite the threat of arrest preceding him. "He s a gentleman with a lot of guts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jakarta Post Updated 25-03-1999 Marzuki lashes out at police action against Winters JAKARTA (JP): Leading human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman rebuked the police on Wednesday for naming Armerican scholar Jeffrey Winters a suspect for allegedly defaming Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita. Marzuki warned that Ginandjar could be adversely affected if the case dragged on "It is somewhat irregular that Winters has been named a suspect because we understand that the statement that he made was merely reiterating what is already known to the public," the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights told The Jakarta Post National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar confirmed on Wednesday that Winters was officially a suspect and was scheduled to be questioned on Thursday at the National Police Headquarters. Winters, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, arrived here on Sunday for a six-day visit to launch the Indonesian translations of his books Power In Motion and The New Order's Political Sins. The controversy stems from his allegation last October that Ginandjar, while serving as minister of mines and energy, had profited handsomely from the renewal of mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia's contract of work. "It is public knowledge based on a finding by a known institution such as Econit, " Marzuki said. Winters said earlier he based his allegations on material provided by the research group, which is headed by noted economist Rizal Ramli. Ginandjar has denied the allegations. Marzuki said a better approach would be for the government to ask Winters to clarify his statement and reach an amicable settlement with Ginandjar. "The way the police are handling this case now would seem to be prolonging the matter and this would be to the disadvantage of Ginandjar," he added. "If this drags on indefinitely, it will be Ginandjar that will be affected ... and it will only reinforce what the public may already believe that there may be some truth in Winters' statement. Therefore, it will only lead to a situation where Ginandjar would be the losing party. " He added that Winters' statement should not be considered a personal attack on Ginandjar "The government may have mistakenly taken a position which opens up a question on the part of the public. " Investigating corruption would be the right course of settling the matter, Marzuki said. If the police insist on naming Winters a suspect, "then not only Winters would have to be requested to clarify, but the police may also have to seek clarification from Ginandjar," he added. Winters will also be questioned by the Attorney General's Office on Friday. Meanwhile, Minister of Justice Muladi told reporters at the House of Representatives on Wednesday that the police have yet to file a request with the ministry to impose a travel ban on Winters. In Surabaya, Winters said he was ready to meet the police with his lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis. He is scheduled to leave for the U.S. on Friday (byg/emf/edt/nur) **************************************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 31 Mar 1999 jam 08:50:22 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
