Soeharto vs. Time Case

Sep 12th, 2007, in News & Issues, by Patung

View the original article here.

16 Comments on “Soeharto vs. Time Case”

Pena Budaya Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 3:01 am
Yuddy Chrisnandi, said:
This is a country of law. We put our trust in the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court.
However he said not all cases like these should go to court, alternative mechanisms should be worked out, although he admitted he was not a legal expert.

Indonesia is certainly a country of lawless corruption. Indonesian law is certainly having no respect towards the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.

We don’t need to become a legal expert to see the injustice verdict by the Supreme Court. It is too obvious to be ignored of. This is only one sample of many injustice that has occured.

No wonder that SBY was placed in the back row of the final photo shoot during APEC summit. Indonesian government deserves this.
Sylvester Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 7:02 am
Why this moron Yuddy guy always speak? He should be sent to the south pole to play with penguins.
This case shows how strong the suharto still. It is a signal to the indo general attorney for suharto’s current case. I wonder do Time have to obey this verdict? Is indo govt stronger than Time?
Daniel Khaleel Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
it was argued that the Suharto family had over 30 odd years amassed a fortune of about $70 billion

To put this into perspective:

Program to have 5 new worldclass educational tertiary institutes = approx $20 billion
Program to resettle jakartan slum dwellers in permanent homes = $5 billion
Access to world class hospital amenities for jakartans and surrounding area = approx $5 billion
Investment in effort to eliminate human traficing from Indonesia = approx $5 billion
Investment in vocational skills training for all unemployed Jakartans = approx $3 billion
Infrastructure and development program for jakarta = approx $15 billion

Important things out of the way, total $53 billion. Still have $17 billion left to start paying off foreign debts.

How can this be tolerated? Why should the media be punished?
Colson Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Let’s rewrite history.

The VOC was a charity organization.

The occupation of the West Bank is legal.

Suharto was an incorruptible president.
WP Says:
September 12th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Well, publicly accussing someone to corrupt billions of people money is a huge defamation. You would need to come up with some solid facts to dare to say so.

If Time coul produce that hard facts, then Soeharto would already in jail by now. It’s really not an easy case to crack. On the lack of supporting facts, any sane judge would verdict against Time.

This has nothing to do with press freedom. Time generally produces good journalism, including in this Soeharto case. That someone sues back and wins is part of the risk, part of the job.
Bas Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 12:13 am
“If Time coul produce that hard facts, then Soeharto would already in jail by now.”

Lol.. Soeharto did worst. He murdered around 500.000 people with the help of the CIA. That is pure facts. The bodies are still here, the CIA archives are now opened and clearly reveal it. It’s not a secret anyway.

Soeharto did it, and he is still free. So 70$ little billions.
Raden Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 8:22 am
It is sick to hear this kind of news from Indonesia, the other side of coin, it could be a tactic from the hopeless law enforcement institution in Indonesia who might think that with Rp 1 trilion penalty to Time, it is enough to motivate Time magazine to work-out further finding the real facts.
Let see what will the Time’s counter actions in the court …
Achmad Sudarsono Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
This is a tough one.

On one hand, there’s little doubt that Soeharto and his kids weren’t shy about “dipping their hands in the till,” or plundering state finances. And the timing of this verdict – just when Soeharto is facing a revival of charges against him – is very suspicious. Let’s face it, Soeharto Inc. probably bribed the Supreme Court.

On the other hand, Time magazine just didn’t have its facts down. The original article – if anyone read it reads like a shopping list of baubles and trinkets, this house here, this painting there. Many of the valuations were very suspicious, and none of the four journalists who wrote the thing were accountants. According to Asia Sentinel, one of the lead writers, spent months afterwards substantiating the article to support their court case. You have to wonder why they didn’t do such research before publishing.

So yes, Soeharto was probably corrupt. But what obligation does a “credible” media outlet have to get its facts right. I’d say to a very high degree, make it clear what they have – or don’t have – and shut up. Of course, you might not then make the same splash.
Soeharto vs TIME magazine Says:
September 13th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
[...] http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1392/suharto-time/ [...]
Enigmatic Says:
September 14th, 2007 at 12:05 am
Yuddy Speaketh

Not everyone was displeased with the verdict. Our friend from the Golkar Party, Yuddy Chrisnandi, said:

This is a country of law. We put our trust in the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court.

However he said not all cases like these should go to court, alternative mechanisms should be worked out, although he admitted he was not a legal expert.

He hath made a good point.

Alternative methods art good at solving such cases. They include bribery coercion and thuggery.

Yuddyboy should just shut up if he aint a legal expert.
Achmad Sudarsono Says:
September 15th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
None of you want to hear The Truth. You just want it packaged in ways easily swalled, digested, and ultimately passed into Crap.
dewaratugedeanom Says:
September 15th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Is the Supreme court paving the way for Soeharto’s come-back?
Ihaknt Says:
September 19th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Nice bling I reckon.
Oigal Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 2:36 pm
“Well, publicly accussing someone to corrupt billions of people money is a huge defamation. You would need to come up with some solid facts to dare to say so.

If Time coul produce that hard facts, then Soeharto would already in jail by now. It’s really not an easy case to crack. On the lack of supporting facts, any sane judge would verdict against Time.”

Laugh… thanks.. best laugh for long time. Hey but don’t feel sorry for Indonesia guys..everyone will just shrug their shoulders and things will continue on as they always have. No one gives a crap as long as “I’m ok Jack” …
Andra Wisnu Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 am
I wonder, is there a court transcript available for this case? Or was it a closed hearing? Seeing this Indonesian Supreme Court vindicate a press organization doesn’t make sense to me. This is the same Supreme Court which had acquitted a Tempo editor from defamation charges, citing that anyone who wants to file suit against any publication should refer to the 1999 press law first.
That press law states that anyone who was been defamed has a legal right to answer the article. Soeharto and his lackeys simply didn’t use it, they went straight to court.
And now the court is saying you don’t have to refer to the press law first?
Make up your mind Bagir!
Adit Says:
September 26th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Seems black is no longer black, so is white.
Depends on who defines it, how it should be seen.
This case definitely shows how a very complicated matter has been presented to the public after a long process with an easy ending. Unfortunately, in this presentation no room is left for those who are not expert in law. Need more years to really understand what should be really understood. Probably…