September 18, 2007 edition

The Indonesian Supreme Court decided in favor of Suharto in his lawsuit against Time magazine. The weekly news publication has also been ordered to publish an apology in a number of media and pay the former Indonesian President the sum of Rp1 trillion in compensation.
Time was found guilty on two counts. Accordingly, an illustration in the magazine depicting Suharto hugging a large house constituted defamation, because the house reportedly did not belong to him. Time’s report citing a transfer of US$9 billion of Suharto’s money from a bank in Switzerland to an account in Austria could not be proven.
This verdict over creativity and journalism clearly spells a death knell for freedom of the press. But to Suharto (and his Cendana family) who currently faces the prosecutor’s civil legal case over his wealth, the Supreme Court decision must come as a welcome relief.

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September 11, 2007 edition

PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formed the Illegal Logging Response Team in the Province of Riau. Over the past eight months, the police have carried out a war against illegal loggers in this province, famous for its sailboats. Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban, who is said to be close to a number of timber dealers there, accused the police of overstepping their authority: clamping down on businesspeople licensed to operate in the forestry business, and threatening the viability of the paper and pulp industry.
The forest in Riau is already bare. At least 3 million hectares—out of some 5 million hectares—of forest area in this province is now treeless. In addition to charging about 250 people as suspects, the police have also confiscated a “mountain of timber” or about 1 million cubic meters in the Gaung River, Indragiri Hilir. A number of giant paper factories are suspected of involvement in the operations of a deforestation “mafia,” causing the state to lose trillions of rupiah. The following is Tempo’s report from a forest in Riau.

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September 4, 2007 edition

SUSPICIONS of bribery by Bank Indonesia of a number of members of the House of Representatives (DPR) have been heard for some time. In 2003, an outlay of the bank’s Rp31.5 billion was discovered to have ended up in the DPR, in order to safeguard the bank’s interests. An audit by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) uncovered the method and the cover-up.
A Tempo source explained how BI’s money to the DPR was part of a project to improve the bank’s image. The reputation of the central bank had been tarnished after a number of its top officials went on trial for corruption charges linked to the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) program.
The project to improve the bank’s image involved legal experts, DPR members and the media. BI fully defended their officials charged with corruption, spending a total of Rp100 billion on the project. How was it all carried out? The following is the result of Tempo’s investigation.

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August 28, 2007 edition

Although Raisah Ali, an abducted child, was recently released, don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Kidnappings are on the rise: in the last two months there have been 14 cases with differing motives. In general, people close to the victims have been involved.

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August 21, 2007 edition

The case review on the Munir case may implicate high-ranking officials from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). The police plan to bring in a number of key witnesses who will confirm BIN’s involvement. They plan to tell the judges about the various scenarios devised to get rid of Munir, the activist. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly being assembled. Can this giant mystery finally be put together and the mastermind put behind bars?

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August 14, 2007 edition

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August 7, 2007 edition

A domestic matter turned into a political dispute. Former DPR Deputy Speaker Zaenal Ma’arif revived a rumor which was spreading just before the 2004 General Elections, when future President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was accused of getting married before joining the military academy—something unallowable for cadets. Zaenal’s evidence is a VCD with a video testimony of a woman speaking about Yudhoyono’s purported marriage.
Although far from convincing, the video has become a hot topic. Those near the President feel that Zaenal is spreading cheap gossip. Others are enthusiastically trying to bring the matter to court. Here is a tale of political gossip and the politics of “thorny isssues.”

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