Anita Rachman & Farouk Arnaz – The Presidential Palace will not issue any further comments on the WikiLeaks scandal, a spokesman for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Sunday.
Julian Aldrin Pasha said no further comment on the matter was necessary as the palace and the US Ambassador to Indonesia, Scot Marciel, had been given the right to respond to the allegations in Saturday's editions of Australian newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
He said the palace would not take any legal action against the newspapers since "both sides were covered," adding that it would be "too much."
"Both [newspapers] ran statements issued by the US Ambassador and gave space for us to clarify that the material was unsubstantiated, unverified and that all the material was very raw," Julian said. "Ambassador Scot Marciel has also conveyed deep regret on the part of the US government regarding the matter."
On Friday, The Age published a report based on a series of diplomatic cables released to it by WikiLeaks, revealing US diplomats' views on various top Indonesian leaders, including a note from the US Embassy in Jakarta that it had doubts about the integrity of Yudhoyono himself.
Ani Yudhoyono, the first lady, was accused of enriching herself through her position and referred to as the "Cabinet of One" in the cables, implying that Yudhoyono considered her views above those of his own administration.
Most of the damaging claims were, according to the US cables, made by former presidential adviser TB Silalahi.
Silalahi allegedly said that in 2004 Yudhoyono stopped former Deputy Attorney General Hendarman Supandji from pursuing a graft case against Taufik Kiemas, husband of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
In the wake of the scandal, political analysts and top legislators have called on the government to stop dismissing the reports and instead prove the allegations are false.
The palace disagreed. "We do not need to prove anything," Julian said. "What we want is for them [Australian newspapers] is to provide evidence [to back the claims they have printed]," he added. "Can that raw information [from the cables] be substantiated or accounted for by them?"
TB Silalahi also said the claims made in the US cables did not make sense as Hendarman was only named deputy attorney general for special crimes in April 2005.
"Marwan Effendi held that position in 2004, not Hendarman," Silalahi said. "Also, I rarely meet with US Embassy officials. We only meet during events like the US Independence Day gathering, and only for casual discussions.
"I shall not take any legal steps in this matter and will leave it up to the government. Personally I am bothered by these false claims," he added. "But, I do not feel threatened. There is so much work to be done, so why should I dance to somebody else's tune?"
Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum said the focus should now be on the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the accuracy and quality of its diplomatic cables.