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SBY gives Wikileaks silent treatment

Source
Jakarta Globe - September 5, 2011

Camelia Pasandaran – The government announced on Monday that it would not respond to any information found in US diplomatic cables presented by whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks, saying that the information is far from credible.

"We won't give any response," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha told the Jakarta Globe. "It is difficult to complain about things like this because the information WikiLeaks reveals is from secondary sources."

Julian also questioned the reliability of the latest release about President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It talked of efforts to repay the financiers that facilitated his 2004 bid for the presidency by offering them jobs in his administration.

"Too much information is presented without clear sources," he said. "It's just the issue of the day, without clear information on sources. Therefore we're not enthusiastic about responding to WikiLeaks news. The primary sources don't understand how such rumors could spread."

WikiLeaks cited remarks from Democratic Party official Silo Marbun saying that Yudhoyono reportedly offered Vence Rumangkang – the party's deputy general chairman – a position in the administration as well as a check for Rp 5 billion ($585,000) to repay Vence's substantial contribution to the party.

Vence reportedly declined to accept both the check and the offer of a political position. He did allegedly say that he hoped to have Yudhoyono's support as he continued his business endeavors.

Marbun also claimed that Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie's contributions to Yudhoyono's presidential campaign totaled Rp 200 billion. Aburizal would subsequently become Yudhoyono's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and later his Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs during the president's first term.

Julian said the president was at first shocked after WikiLeaks revealed diplomatic cables from the US Embassy in Jakarta that generated considerable attention from international media.

But he said that Yudhoyono had stopped caring about the leaked cables "after learning about the methodology used." "We believe the public will later know and realize just how credible [the information leaked by WikiLeaks is]," he said.

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