Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Jakarta Globe | August 25, 2011
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been heavily criticized in a new batch of US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.
The cables, which originate from the US Embassy in Jakarta, also criticize a number of senior or former state officials and lay bare concerns and shortcomings regarding the nation’s justice system, particularly in regards to corruption.
Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng, a key figure in Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, has already dismissed the significance of the leaked cables, saying that as the government did not know the source of the information contained in the documents, they did not need to respond.
In one cable sent in November of 2009, Yudhoyono was criticized as failing to quell the growing and soon to be major crisis involving alleged attempts to bring down the nation’s respected Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the infamous cicak (gecko) versus buaya (alligator) scandal.
The cable said Yudhoyono, in response to the scandal and another involving the Bank Century case, had only provided authorities with “vague guidance” for the police and Attorney General’s Office.
“Yudhoyono’s remarks left the public critical of his leadership and provided no clear end to these continuing issues.”
The cable also noted that the “controversies have sidetracked Yudhoyono’s plans to use his first 100 days to develop an action orientated program for the next years.”
Yudhoyono has previously been forced to deny allegations contained in US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks of improper conduct, including that his family had received money from banking and construction tycoon Tomy Winata. It was also alleged that the president used Indonesian intelligence to spy on his political rivals.
Another batch of released cables savages Indonesia’s corruption-fighting efforts, including “an overly rigid and dysfunctional relationship between prosecutors and police” that hinders many investigations.
“The two groups rarely work together on investigations; when police hand over a dossier, prosecutors find themselves often dissatisfied with the results.”
“Interagency law enforcement task forces seen routinely in the US remain rare in Indonesia; police and prosecutors seldom develop joint, long-term strategies and often miss opportunities to shake up corrupt networks.”
The cables note, however, that the KPK and Interagency Team to Eradicate Corruption had made recent progress in this area.
Additionally, many investigations are hampered at the outset by police, another cable asserted.
Media announcements and leaks made by police alert criminal suspects “giving them time to destroy evidence, develop alibis, flee the country, or transfer assets abroad.”
Read original post here: WikiLeaks Cables Deal Fresh Blow to Yudhoyono, Indonesian Government
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