Indonesian Activists Slam Wolfowitz' World Bank Candidacy

Wolfowitz, considered the key architect of the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, has been nominated by U.S.
President George W. Bush to succeed the outgoing World
Bank president, James Wolfensohn.

International organizations and Third World countries
- the main recipients of World Bank loans - are
questioning his qualifications and commitment to
international development.

Analysts in Indonesia, where Wolfowitz served as
ambassador from 1986 to 1989 during the
military-backed government of former President
Suharto, say the candidate has a poor track record in
other areas crucial to the World Bank, such as
fighting graft and respect for human rights.

"Of all former U.S. ambassadors, he was considered
closest to and most influential with Suharto and his
family," said Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, head of
the state-sponsored National Human Rights Commission.

"But he never showed interest in issues regarding
democratization or respect of human rights," said
Hakim, who at the time headed the Legal Aid Institute
that defended dissidents and sought to free political
prisoners. "Wolfowitz never once visited our offices."

"I also never heard him publicly mention corruption,
not once," Hakim said.

At the time, thousands of leftists detained after the
1965 U.S.-backed military coup that brought Suharto to
power were still languishing in jail without trial.
And tens of thousands of people in East Timor - a
country Suharto's troops occupied in 1975 - died
during the 1980s in a series of army anti-insurgency
offensives.

During his 32-year reign, Suharto, his family and his
military and business cronies transformed Indonesia
into one of the most graft-ridden countries in the
world, plundering an estimated US$30 billion.

After being ousted in 1998 by pro-democracy protests,
Suharto was finally charged in 2000 with personally
embezzling US$600 million. The charges were dropped
when judges ruled he was too ill to go to trial.

Still, Wolfowitz publicly lauded the dictator,
praising his "strong and remarkable leadership" in
congressional testimony.

Wolfowitz "never alluded to any concerns about the
level of corruption or the need for more
transparency," said Binny Buchori, director of the
International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development - a
coalition of 100 agencies promoting democracy in
Indonesia.

"He was an effective diplomat, but he gave no moral
support for dissidents," she said. "He went to East
Timor and saw abuses going on, but then kept quiet."

Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former foreign policy adviser to
B.J. Habibie, Suharto's successor as head of state,
also agreed that Wolfowitz was a competent and popular
envoy.

"He was extremely able and very much admired and
well-liked on a personal level ... but he never
intervened to push human rights or stand up to
corruption," she said.

"At the time, Washington didn't care too much about
human rights and democracy; it was still the Cold War
and they were only concerned about fighting
communism."