Neither Indonesia’s independent anti-corruption watchdog, the Corruption Eradication Commission, nor Indonesia’s leading anti-corruption NGO, Indonesia Corruption Watch, feel that claims published in two Australian newspapers (The Age and The Sydney Morning, for those stories, see story from March 14th on this site), via information leaked from US diplomatic cables, were credible enough to warrant further investigation.
This conclusion was drawn after several mistakes were found in the documents by Indonesian Corruption Watch, such as the claim that President Yudhoyono had asked Hendarman Supandji to cease a corruption probe into political insider Taufik Kiemas, which did not make sense seeing as Mr. Supandji was not the Assistant Attorney General at the time, as claimed in the cables.
While the President has denied all of the allegations that appeared in the cables, the Association of Advocates for People launched legal action in a Jakarta Court against the US government and both Australian newspapers, seeking $1 billion (US) in damages.
For The Age‘s take on this story, please click here.
Picture copyright of Indonesia Corruption Watch
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