Why there surely is no justice in the world. NAH BAY.

Suharto awarded $162m in libel suit against Time

Magazine alleged in 1999 article that his family had amassed US$15b during his rule

Sep 11, 2007 JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S Supreme Court has ordered Time magazine to pay US$106 million (S$162 million) in damages for defaming former leader Suharto by alleging his family amassed US$15 billion during his rule. The cover story in the magazine's May 1999 Asian edition said that much of the money had been transferred from Switzerland to Austria before he stepped down as president amid riots and pro-democracy protests in 1998. Mr Suharto maintained the article defamed him as well as the state of Indonesia. A three-judge Supreme Court panel ruled on Aug 31 'that Time magazine has to pay US$106 million for defaming Suharto', a court spokesman disclosed yesterday. The decision is likely to spark outrage in Indonesia, where the ageing former president has avoided being brought to trial over persistent allegations of massive corruption during his 32-year, iron-fisted rule. 'We accept the suit filed by Suharto and refuse the decision of the Appeal Court and Central Jakarta District Court,' Supreme Court spokesman Nurhadi told reporters, referring to rulings against the ex-leader made in 2000 and 2001. He said the court had also ordered that an apology be published in Indonesian newspapers as well as three Time titles. Mr Suharto had been seeking more than US$27 billion in the defamation suit filed against US-based Time over the article alleging he had stashed a massive amount of money abroad. Time said, in the article, that it had traced some US$15 billion in wealth accumulated by Mr Suharto and his six children following a four-month investigation by its correspondents in 11 countries. The money, the article alleged, included US$9 billion in cash that was transferred from a Swiss to an Austrian bank shortly after he stepped down amid unrest in May 1998. The magazine also said it had documented that more than US$73 billion 'in revenues and assets' passed through the Suharto family's hands during his time in office. But those holdings had allegedly been reduced over the years by mismanagement and the 1997-1998 financial crisis, it said. Mr Nurhadi told reporters that the Time article was 'considered inappropriate, far from decent and careless, so it is considered against the law on defamation, and against the honour of the plaintiff who is a military general, retired, and former Indonesian president'. 'Based on those considerations, the plaintiff's civil suit and demands on immaterial damages are accepted in order to uphold justice,' he added. Under Indonesian law, the only legal avenue open to Time now would be to file a request for a judicial review, for which new evidence or a procedural dispute needs to be claimed. A lawyer for Time, Mr Todung Mulya Lubis, told the afternoon daily newspaper Sinar Harapan before the ruling was confirmed that what Time published was 'based on journalistic ethics'. 'It was fair and covered both sides,' he was quoted as saying. Mr Suharto has always denied accumulating a fortune while in power. He described a Forbes magazine estimate after he stepped down that he was one of the world's richest men as 'ridiculous'. Bringing him to justice has been seen as a key test of the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was elected in 2004 on an anti-corruption platform. A long-running criminal case against Mr Suharto was abandoned in May last year on health grounds, triggering widespread criticism of Dr Yudhoyono. State prosecutors filed a civil suit seeking more than US$1.5 billion in damages against the former strongman in July, claiming that he misused charity funds during his rule, but analysts are sceptical that it will be successful. Analysts see rampant corruption in Indonesia today - it is regularly ranked as one of the world's most graft-prone - as a legacy of Mr Suharto's rule. ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE