PRE-SEASON

SHOWDOWN

Malthouse back in the box

I Hirds first big test
NAB CUP PREVIEW SPORT

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FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011

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Yudhoyono abused power

Cables accuse Indonesian
President of corruption
EXCLUSIVE
By PHILIP DORLING
SECRET US diplomatic cables
have implicated Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in substantial corruption and abuse of power,
puncturing his reputation as a
political cleanskin and reformer.

The cables say Dr Yudhoyono has personally intervened to influence prosecutors

and judges to protect corrupt
political figures and pressure his
adversaries, while using the
Indonesian intelligence service
to spy on political rivals and, at
least once, a senior minister in
his own government.
They also detail how Dr

Yudhoyonos former vicepresident reportedly paid millions of dollars to buy control of

Indonesias largest political
party, and accuse the Presidents
wife and her family of seeking to
enrich themselves through their
political connections.
The revelations come as
Indonesian
Vice-President
Boediono visits Canberra today
for talks with acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan and discussions with officials on administrative change to reform
Indonesias corrupt bureaucracy.
The US diplomatic reports
obtained by WikiLeaks and

THE
WIKILEAKS
FILES
provided exclusively to The Age
say that soon after becoming
President in 2004, Dr Yudhoyono intervened in the case
of Taufik Kiemas, husband of
former president Megawati
Sukarnoputri.
Mr Taufik reportedly had

used his continuing control of

his wifes Indonesian Democratic Party, then the second
largest party in Indonesias parliament, to broker protection
from prosecution for what the
US diplomats described as
legendary corruption during
his wifes tenure.
In December 2004, the US
embassy in Jakarta reported that
one of its most valued political
informants, senior presidential
adviser T. B. Silalahi, had
advised that then assistant
attorney-general Hendarman
Supandji, who was leading the
new
governments
anti-

corruption campaign, had gathered sufficient evidence of the

corruption of former first
gentleman Taufik Kiemas to
warrant Taufiks arrest.
But Mr Silalahi, one of Dr
Yudhoyonos closest political
confidants, told the US embassy
the President had personally
instructed Hendarman not to
pursue a case against Taufik.
No legal proceedings were
brought against Mr Taufik, an
influential political figure who is
now Speaker of the Peoples
Consultative Assembly, a largely
ceremonial body.
The US embassy also repor-

ted that then vice-president

Jusuf Kalla allegedly paid
enormous bribes to win the
chairmanship of Golkar, Indonesias largest party, during a
December 2004 party congress.
The Presidents wife and relatives feature prominently in
the US embassys political
reporting, with American diplomats highlighting efforts of the
Presidents family particularly
first lady Kristiani Herawati . . .
to profit financially from its
political position. As early as

Continued PAGE 4

FOCUS

Bambang thank you maam PAGE 17

By MICHELLE GRATTAN
WASHINGTON

and JASON KOUTSOUKIS

JERUSALEM

Continued PAGE 2
Daniel Flittons analysis PAGE 2
They want our oil: Gaddafi PAGE 14
All the way with the USA PAGE 19

Nixon
quizzed,
Fevola
lapses
By MARIS BECK
and JON PIERIK

Gillard,
Rudd
at odds
on Libya
A SPLIT has emerged between
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and
her foreign minister, Kevin
Rudd, over international intervention in Libya.
Trying to play down the
embarrassing rift during her
visit to the United States, Ms
Gillard said the United Nations
Security Council should consider a full range of options to
deal with dictator Muammar
Gaddafi, and made it clear Australia had no intention of taking
an active part if a flightexclusion zone was imposed.
We are a long way from
Libya and what weve said is that
in the first instance NATO would
need to work through this question of the no-fly zone, said Ms
Gillard, who also discussed
Libya with UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon yesterday.
Mr Rudd has been campaigning strongly for a flightexclusion zone, declaring this
week it was very much the
lesser of two evils . . . a greater
evil is to simply stand back and
allow the innocent people of
Libya to be strafed and bombed
by Gaddafi.
Behind the scenes, Ms Gillards office has been in despair
at Mr Rudds public comments,
saying his repeated interventions on Libya have come without the knowledge or approval
of the Prime Minister.
An adviser to Ms Gillard, who
asked not to be named, told The
Age that Mr Rudds freewheeling
approach was also causing confusion at a diplomatic level.
Hes out of control, the
adviser said. He puts out one
press release after another, and

Quizzed: Ricky Nixon in a police

car yesterday. PICTURE: CHANNEL NINE

Julia Gillard signs autographs after addressing a joint meeting of the United States Congress on Capitol Hill, and (below) during her address with the Speaker, John Boehner (rear left) wiping away a tear.

PICTURES: GARY RAMAGE

Congress laps it up as the Prime Minister lays it on thick

SIMON MANN

US CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON
TOWARDS the end of her 30-minute
address to Congress, Julia Gillards voice
wavered momentarily, straining under
the weight of occasion and as she
reprised her schoolgirl reaction to an
awe-inspiring moment in history.
Americans could do anything, she
had thought while watching the moon
landing as a student not yet eight years
of age. Palpable and personal, her emotional recollection drew empathy from
her audience.
Speaker John Boehner, the chainsmoking Republican from Ohio prone
to tears, sniffled behind her, as did several of those assembled in front. As I
stand before you in this, this cradle of
democracy, I see a nation that changed
the world, a nation that has known

remarkable days, Gillard said, faltering

a little. I firmly believe you are the same
people who amazed me, when I was a
small girl, by landing on the moon.
At which point, her audience erupted in applause, interrupting momentarily her emotional crescendo. On that
great day, I believed Americans could do
anything, Gillard continued. I believe
that still. You can do anything.
To which they responded again, rising to their feet for the sixth time to offer
a sustained ovation, then handshakes,
as the Prime Minister the fourth
Australian to address a joint meeting of
the House of Representatives and the
Senate made her way out.
Gillard had laid it on with a trowel,
pledging undying loyalty to the US that
made all the way with LBJ look like a
cold shoulder. She poured it on, lavishing praise on Americans, the American
dream and on Ronald Reagan as a
symbol of American optimism, of which
there was no greater symbol than
America itself.

WEATHER
MELBOURNE Partly cloudy
BALLARAT Showers
BENDIGO Showers
GEELONG Partly cloudy
HORSHAM Partly cloudy

16-27
11-24
14-26
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MILDURA Cloudy
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WARRNAMBOOL Morning fog 13-25
WODONGA Showers
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MELBOURNE DAMS

54%%
48.3

A YEAR AGO:
AGO: 35.3%
34.7%

You have a true friend Down

Under, she assured those present. You
have an ally in Australia, an ally for war
and peace, an ally for hardship and
prosperity, an ally for the 60 years
past . . . an ally for all the years to come.
True friends, real mates [who] talk
straight, together in the hardest
times . . . standing firm.
Without any sense of irony, she said:
Those of you who have spent time with
Australians know that we are not given
to overstatement.
But this was, er, well, not to beat
around the bush, a case of blowin
smoke . . . , capping a string of picture
opportunities during a three-day orientation of the capital and Capitol.
Here was the climax, an address to
Congress to commemorate the 60th
anniversary of ANZUS.
Mastering the autocue that is the
ubiquitous accessory of modern statecraft, Gillard stood out in a smart orange
jacket that played splendidly against the
deep blue of the chambers carpet, the

ODD SPOT
Mary Tetley of Denbigh, Wales, was left $16,000 in her
mothers will, with a letter telling her to follow her dream.
So Mary, 45, went on a three-month solo tour of Europes
chocolate hot-spots, including Belgium, Switzerland and
France, blew the lot and put on more than 15 kilograms.

diplomatic mis-en-scene completed by

front-row attendants, the Republicans
John McCain, a jolly Richard Lugar and
a grim-faced Mitch McConnell alongside Democrat heavyweights Harry
Reid, as well as foreign specialists John
Kerry and Dick Durbin.
While barely a couple of hundred of
the 535 elected representatives and senators showed up, officials avoided
embarrassment by back-filling with
staffers and interns and even a few rows
of schoolchildren.
Their welcome was genuinely warm,
even if it also reflected the weight of
Australias worldly standing. When the
Prime Minister entered the chamber at
11.05am, they stood and turned towards
her, applauding dutifully, some juggling
BlackBerries and iPhones that would
keep them in touch discreetly with
matters of state du jour federal
budget cuts and Libyan no-fly zones.
They were on their feet again five
minutes later when Gillard touched on

Continued PAGE 2

INDEX
ARTS
PAGE
CLASSIFIEDS
BUSINESSDAY
COMMENT & DEBATE
PAGE
EDITORIALS, LETTERS
PAGE
MINDGAMES
PAGE

AFL player manager Ricky Nixon

was questioned by police yesterday, just days after standing
down from his role to seek treatment for substance abuse.
It is believed police asked
Nixon about allegations made by
the 17-year-old at the centre of
the St Kilda nude photo scandal.
The teenager claims she has had
a sexual relationship with Nixon
and made covert recordings that
included audio of Nixon snorting cocaine.
Police would not confirm
whether Nixon had been interviewed, but Channel Nine
filmed him leaving the Victoria
Police Centre in a police car.
Nixon is also being investigated by David Galbally, QC, for
the AFL Players Association and
could lose his accreditation as a
player manager.
Nixon, who did not return
calls last night, has admitted to
inappropriate dealings with
the teenager, but repeatedly
denied taking drugs in her presence or having sex with her.
As the AFL struggles with the
Nixon fallout, the controversy
over Brendan Fevola took a turn
for the worse when he was spotted playing poker at Crown
Casino.
The lapse came less than a
week after the wayward player
completed a 66-day stint in a
rehabilitation clinic for gambling and alcohol addiction and
depression.
Last night, Fevola revealed in
a paid interview on The Footy
Show that he had attempted suicide and may have lost $1 million through gambling. He said
he once lost $365,000 in a day.
He said that he attempted to
harm himself following an argument last year with estranged
wife Alex.
I started to drink some red
wine and ended up drinking
about three or four bottles and
tried to harm myself, he said.
My mum found me lying on the
floor when she came over. They
put me in the [Brisbane] clinic.
Yesterdays visit to Crown has
put at risk his comeback with
VFL side Casey Scorpions, after
he was dumped by Brisbane.
For help or information visit beyondblue.org.au, call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251, or Lifeline on
131 114.

Fevs final hand? SPORT

ISSN 0312-6307

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