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Indonesia Prosecutors To Question Wahid
JAKARTA, Feb 13 (News Agencies) - Indonesian state prosecutors will question President Abdurrahman Wahid over corruption allegations at the center of efforts to unseat him, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said Tuesday.
"We will question the president later, after we question witnesses and members of Pansus [a special parliamentary commission] first," Darusman told reporters at parliament, without giving a time frame.
The 50-member parliamentary commission concluded that Wahid "could be suspected" of involvement in embezzling $3.9 million of state funds, and was "inconsistent" in accounting for a $2 million donation from the Sultan of Brunei.
"We want to ask them for information," Darusman said of the commission members.
Their report, endorsed by an overwhelming majority of MPs, prompted a censure motion against Wahid on February 1st, setting in train a process that could lead to his impeachment within four months.
Parliamentary leaders handed the commission's findings to Darusman and national police chief General Suroyo Bimantoro last week.
Accepting the report, Darusman stressed his office had already begun court proceedings against two key suspects in the embezzlement case, which involved a pension fund attached to the state food agency, Bulog.
Trials are underway for a former Bulog deputy head named Sapuan, and Wahid's former masseur, Agung Alip Suwondo, who is accused of persuading Sapuan - in Wahid's name - to release the funds.
"So it's happening back to front. The legal process is already under way while the political process is following behind," Darusman was quoted as saying by the official Antara news agency.
He said investigators would monitor testimonies in the Sapuan and Suwondo trials for any indication of Wahid's involvement in the Bulog scandal.
Darusman also revealed he had appointed the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes to lead inquiries into the allegations against Wahid.
"We'll do what we can without having to wait for a pronouncement from the Supreme Court so that people will see there is no effort whatsoever by the Attorney General's Office to avoid, delay or prolong this case," he said.
Darusman added that Wahid would be questioned as an individual, not as a president, Antara reported.
Asked about Wahid's announcement in East Java last week that ten prominent people would be arrested within three weeks, Darusman said investigations were under way.
"We're not tied to anything yet. It can be less or more [than ten]", he told reporters.
Darusman refused to reveal the names of the prominent people under investigation.
"We can't mention any names but we'll do so shortly."
The Attorney General, a Wahid appointee and prominent member of the reformist faction of the opposition Golkar party, also brushed off reports Tuesday that Wahid's political party wanted to dump him.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) had advised Wahid ten days ago to sack Darusman over the slowness of other corruption investigations, and nominated two possible replacements, a PKB official told the Koridor.com news service.
Asked about the report, Darusman laughed and replied: "I have no comment."
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