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Indonesia campaigns against corruption

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Agence France Presse - October 19, 2006

Jakarta – Indonesian television broadcast the photo of a fugitive convicted of embezzling millions of dollars in state funds as part of a new campaign against corruption.

The broadcast Tuesday was the first installment of a weekly TV program exposing people convicted of corruption, which remains endemic at all levels of government.

Two TV stations plan to screen the images of 14 people convicted of graft or white-collar crime in coming weeks to boost the campaign, said spokesman I Wayan Pasek Suartha of the Attorney General's office. "We hope that people can tell us whatever they know about where these convicted corruptors are hiding out," Suartha said.

Tuesday's program focused on Sudjiono Timan, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for embezzling $140 million after his bank received emergency funds meant to bail out banks crippled during Indonesia's 1998 financial crisis, said Suartha.

Timan, who was not imprisoned during his trial, is believed to have fled overseas before the verdict. He remains at large.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won elections in 2004 after vowing to crack down on corruption. His campaign has netted several high-profile suspects, but most analysts say it has so far been only a partial success.

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