Word: suharto
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...creation and prevent further damage to the economy. A decade ago, the world also looked to Washington - and, specifically, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - for deliverance from the financial turbulence. This was immortalized in a photograph of IMF chief Michel Camdessus peering over the shoulder of then Indonesian President Suharto, as the latter signed his country's agreement to receive IMF loans...
...Suharto's lawyers continued to appeal the decision, however, all the way up to Indonesia's Supreme Court. There was no indication that the case had progressed, until yesterday. Press reports quoted a court spokesman in Jakarta as saying that the Supreme Court has ruled against TIME, awarding Suharto - who stepped down as President in 1998 and who, at age 86, is apparently in declining health - $106 million and calling for TIME to print an apology...
...article in question, a 14-page story entitled "The Family Firm" (the cover line read "Suharto Inc.,") showed how Suharto and his children built up a fortune estimated at $15 billion in "cash, shares, corporate assets, real estate, jewelry and fine art," amid a climate of corruption, collusion and nepotism...
...Suharto denied the charges, and when he brought his lawsuit, many observers assumed that a foreign publication wouldn't be able to get a fair trial in Indonesia when it was up against a former President who had appointed the judges hearing the case. Yet the Jakarta court ruled that the article had been published in the public interest, a defense against defamation in Indonesia, and that Suharto had presented insufficient evidence to support his claims. The court also ruled that TIME had "covered both sides" in its article...
...Ironically, the Indonesian government has pursued its own cases against Suharto, alleging widespread corruption. Indonesia's attorney general dropped corruption charges last year, citing Suharto's inability to defend himself due to poor health. But press reports indicate that a civil case seeking more than $1.5 billion, which alleges that Suharto misused charity funds during his rule, is still pending...