Jakarta – Paul Wolfowitz' candidacy for World Bank president has triggered criticism from rights activists in Indonesia, where he served as US ambassador during Suharto's dictatorship but never spoke out publicly against the regime's violent abuses or endemic corruption.
Wolfowitz, considered the key architect of the US-led invasion of Iraq, has been nominated by US 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 US 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 US-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."