----- Original Message ----- From: B.DORPI P. To: !B.DORPI P. Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007 3:12 AM Subject: Re.: UN initiative 'inspired' by South Korea
http://www.thejakartapost.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]&irec=0 September 22, 2007 UN initiative 'inspired' by South Korea Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta An expert on former president Soeharto's wealth said the United Nations' drive to recover assets accumulated by the former dictator was inspired by the success of South Korea in prosecuting corrupt military regimes of the past. "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is from South Korea and I suspect that he was inspired by the success of his country in prosecuting former corrupt leaders from military backgrounds," George Junus Aditjondro told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. "A former South Korean president with a civilian background, Kim Young-sam, was able to prosecute the country's two former corrupt presidents, Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan." George, who has been studying Soeharto and the flow of his wealth for more than a decade, said the UN's Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, a new scheme aimed at helped developing nations recover assets embezzled by former leaders, had a dual purpose. "The (initiative) intends to give a lesson to Indonesia and South Korean industry, along with its chaebol, a Korean term for conglomerates. Korean carmakers like KIA and Hyundai made deals in the past with Soeharto's children." The initiative, launched by the UN on Monday in cooperation with the World Bank and Transparency International, estimates Soeharto's wealth at between US$15 billion and $35 billion. The challenge now, George said, is how to recover the assets. Discussing the World Bank, George said its current attitude was far different from during Soeharto's 32-year reign. "They used to whitewash graft in the (Soeharto) regime. However, after the financial crisis hit the country, the World Bank's attitude started to change." The World Bank says annual theft as a percentage of average nominal gross domestic product in Indonesia during Soeharto's New Order rule was between 0.6 and 1.3 percent. The bank lists Soeharto as the worst alleged swindler of state assets, along with Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Alberto Fujimori of Peru. Corruption Eradication Commission deputy chairman Erry R. Hardjapamekas said the commission would give its full support to the UN and World Bank initiative. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will meet World Bank president Robert Zoellick when he visits the UN in New York on Sept. 22-26. They are expected to discuss the report on Soeharto's alleged wealth. Soeharto's lawyer Mohammad Assegaf told AFP earlier the UN and World Bank were acting "irresponsibly". He said the organizations should conduct their own investigations and avoid using the phrase "estimates of funds allegedly embezzled" in their report. Just prior to the launch of this new initiative, the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered U.S.-based Time magazine to pay Soeharto $106 million for a May 1999 report the court said libeled the former strongman. The publication reported in its Asian edition that the former president had stashed away a massive amount of wealth in several European countries, including Switzerland and Austria. The 86-year-old Soeharto has avoided a criminal trial for corruption because of poor health. A civil suit brought by state prosecutors over the alleged misappropriation of funds through Soeharto's charitable foundations will soon be heard in Jakarta
