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SBY ignores claims over First Lady
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono responded coolly over a renewed claim that First Lady Ani Yudhoyono played a crucial rule in his administration, which had been suggested by an Australian media outlet to be among the reasons Canberra tapped her phone in 2009
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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono responded coolly over a renewed claim that First Lady Ani Yudhoyono played a crucial rule in his administration, which had been suggested by an Australian media outlet to be among the reasons
Canberra tapped her phone in 2009.
But many believed that the revelation could put the progress toward the normalization of Jakarta-Canberra relationship in jeopardy. The two neighbors have been involved in a row after news reports broke last month that Australian intelligence had tapped the phones of Yudhoyono, his wife and his inner circle.
'The President has read the article but he did not take it seriously, because it does not have a grain of truth in it,' presidential spokesman for foreign affairs Teuku Faizasyah said on Sunday.
The Australian published a story on Saturday that revealed the wiretapping had been 'part of a deliberate and calculated strategy to learn more about the shifting balance of power inside Jakarta's ruling elite'.
It was suggested that Australian intelligence agencies had targeted the First Lady's cell phone because 'she had become the single most influential adviser to Yudhoyono and was thought to be hatching a presidential succession plan for her eldest son [Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono]'.
Another reason, according to the article, was that 'Canberra wanted to learn more about the relationship between the presidential palace and Islamic groups at a time when three Australians had been killed in the twin hotel bombings in Jakarta in July 2009.'
The Australian also wrote that the decision to try to eavesdrop was not based simply on the fact that Yudhoyono sometimes used his wife's phone instead of his own.
The newspaper also ran an editorial titled 'Our spies acted responsibly' and an opinion piece titled '[Former Australia's prime minister Kevin] Rudd made right call on tapping Indonesian First Lady's phone.'
Despite the claim that Yudhoyono did not overreact, his other spokesman, Julian Aldrin Pasha, angrily said, 'the attempt to justify [the tapping] is stupid.'
'Phone tapping is illegal. If your phone was being tapped, you would feel uncomfortable, wouldn't you? Haven't they ever read about the regulations on freedom, privacy and human rights?' Julian said.
On suggestion that Agus had been groomed by his mother to be a future president, Julian only said, 'it's their opinion.'
State Secretary Sudi Silalahi maintained the First Lady had no such power to interfere with Yudhoyono's administration. '[The First Lady] was never involved in the President's discussions about the Cabinet.'
Sudi also denied that Ani had groomed Agus to become a future president. 'Agus has been preparing independently as a long-term plan.'
In the article, The Australian also refers to a confidential diplomatic cable by the US Embassy in Jakarta, dated Oct. 17, 2007 and released by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.
'The First Lady has allegedly leveraged her access to the President to help her friends and disparage her foes, including vice president Kalla,' the cable says.
WikiLeaks also considered Ani a major influence on Yudhoyono.
'The First Lady had expanded her influence with the State Palace and emerged as the President's undisputed top adviser.' 'The President's advisors privately grumbled about her unseen influence in the decision-making process.' 'Contacts have reported that the balance of power within the Palace has shifted palpably in Ani's direction.'
Faizasyah said the article was a clear attempt to justify wiretapping. When asked if the article could have been designed by Canberra, he said, ' that's just a theory'.
But Faizasyah was quick to add that the process of the normalization of the Indonesia-Australia relationship had not been affected.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called on the Indonesian government to resume cooperation in tackling people smuggling.
'Given that people smuggling is a crime in Indonesia, just as it is a crime in Australia, I think it is high time that cooperation was resumed,' he said as quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
