PRESIDENTIAL CRITIC LOSES DEFAMATION SUIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000579 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KISL ID SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL CRITIC LOSES DEFAMATION SUIT REF: 07 JAKARTA 2072 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On March 17, a former Deputy Speaker of Parliament was sentenced to eight months in prison for defaming President Yudhoyono (the sentence was subsequently suspended). The former legislator had publicly accused the president of hiding a previous marriage. SBY's decision to take the matter to court sent his political opponents--who have been politically emboldened by rising food and energy prices--an unambiguous message: come after the president's carefully cultivated reputation for probity at your own peril. END SUMMARY. NOTES ON A SCANDAL ¶2. (SBU) This twisted tale begins last year. As reported in reftel, last August President Yudhoyono endorsed a pro forma request by PBR, a political party, to remove then Deputy Speaker of Parliament Zaenal Ma'arif from the legislature. (Note: In the Indonesian political system, parties have a right to recall their members from parliament at any time on any grounds.) Ma'arif responded to this in anger, releasing what he suggested was "evidence" that SBY had been married previously to a Philippine national. Yudhoyono reacted swiftly to the accusation--which in fact had bubbled up earlier--by launching a defamation lawsuit. ¶3. (SBU) Several Mission contacts reported that Ma'arif's claim was weak. Ma'arif gambled--in effect--that he could besmirch the president's reputation by wheeling out an unproven charge. When it became evident that the president would pursue formal charges against him, Ma'arif quickly retracted his claim, even going so far as to publicly apologize. Despite this, SBY remained steadfast in his determination to follow through with the defamation case. THE VERDICT ¶4. (U) On March 17, the Central Jakarta District Court reached its verdict, ruling that Ma'arif had committed slander against the president by making accusations that he could not substantiate and which damaged the president's reputation. The Court sentenced him to eight months in prison, but suspended the prison sentence on the condition that he not repeat the offense. The judges reported that they took Ma'arif's apology into consideration and showed some leniency in the sentencing as a result. Looking and sounding sufficiently chastened, Ma'arif reacted to the announcement by stating "I have accepted the verdict and I will use this opportunity to do some soul-searching." POLITICAL IMPACT ¶5. (C) In many ways this verdict could not have come at a better time for the president. Rising food and energy prices are putting the economic squeeze on many Indonesians and removing the air of political invulnerability surrounding the president as the 2009 elections approach. He still holds a commanding lead over his prospective challengers, but there is no question his opponents smell blood on the economic issue and are feeling emboldened (see septel for more). By lowering the legal boom on Zaenal Ma'arif, President Yudhoyono signaled to his opponents that he stands ready to defend his reputation for probity at all costs. HUME