WikiLeaks-linked banker on trial

Rudolf Elmer says he was trying to expose a widespread system of tax evasion by rich businesspeople and politicians. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 11:27 GMT

Rudolf Elmer, right, seen here with Julian Assange, faces charges for breaking Swiss banking secrecy laws [AFP] A Swiss banker, who claims to have handed WikiLeaks details of rich tax evaders, has appeared before a Swiss court to face charges for breaking Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws. Rudolf Elmer's trial on Wednesday comes two days after he handed more client data to WikiLeaks that prosecutors allege he stole after being fired from his job at Julius Baer Bank. The data which was given to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, included two data CDs that Elmer said contained names of 2,000 wealthy account holders, but refused to give details of the companies or individuals involved. Elmer said he was trying to expose a widespread system of tax evasion by rich businesspeople and politicians. Prosecutors allege that Elmer tried to extort money from Julius Baer and its senior executives and also sent bomb threats to his ex-employer. According to a prosecution statement, Elmer denied issuing a bomb threat against the bank, but admitted threatening to send details of the bank's exclusive offshore clients to tax authorities in Switzerland, Britain and the United States. He also said he did not breach Swiss bank secrecy, since the documents he leaked referred to accounts in Cayman, where Swiss courts have no jurisdiction. Prosecutors are asking for Elmer, who headed Baer's office in the Cayman Islands until he was fired by the bank in 2002, to be sentenced to an eight-month jail term and a $2,083 fine. The hearing is expected to last just one day. Interest abroad The trial in Zurich has drawn broad media attention and about a dozen protesters gathered in front of the court building. Members from the left-wing Alternative Liste party held up a banner, saying: "They want to hang Rudi, they let Kaspar off the hook", in a reference to UBS chairman Kaspar Villiger. Last year, UBS handed over thousands of client details to end a damaging US tax probe, but none of its bankers were prosecuted in Switzerland. "We think those who expose the distasteful side of Swiss finance need our support," said Walter Angst, one of the protesters. Several Swiss banks including UBS, AG and Credit Suisse Group have suffered embarrassing data leaks in recent years, some at the hands of disgruntled employees. Elmer's actions had caused a US judge to shut down WikiLeaks for two weeks in early 2008, marking the only time that the secrecy-spilling website has been forced offline for a significant amount of time. Since then, WikiLeaks has shot into public consciousness for publishing thousands of secret US military and diplomatic files.

Source: Agencies

Vietnam wraps up party convention

Prime minister reappointed to elite politburo on last day of five-yearly convention. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 05:40 GMT

The Communist Party congress ended with a pledge to maintain one-party rule [AFP] Nguyen Tan Dung, the prime minister of Vietnam, has been reappointed to the ruling Communist Party's elite politburo, paving the way for him to serve for a second term. Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of parliament, was also named as the party's secretary-general on Wednesday while prominent figure Truong Tan Sang and Nguyen Sinh Hung, the deputy prime minister, said to be rivals of Dung, were also in the politburo. The announcements come as Communist Party wrapped up its five-yearly convention. The country's last National Congress was held during the economic boom in 2006, when Vietnam was experiencing an annual growth of seven per cent. But since 2009, Vietnam has had to devalue its currency, the dong, three times, while its neighbouring countries have strengthened their currencies. Continuity However, analysts expect broad policy continuity as the party founded 81-years-ago by leader Ho Chi Minh seeks fast but stable economic growth and gropes its way towards the reform of state-owned businesses. "The government should give more space for the market to decide the operation of the economy; it should not tell enterprises in detail what to do, such as make this investment or not," Le Dang Doanh, a former government advisor, now an independent economist, told Reuters news agency. "Prime Minister Dung's top priority, if he is selected for a second term, should be, first, stabilising the macro economy, curbing inflation; second, he should continue to innovate in the state-owned enterprises system and improve their accountability." Inefficiencies in state firms came to the fore with the near-bankruptcy last year of shipbuilder Vinashin, a company that had large political and financial support over the years. Its problems played a part in the downgrading of Vietnam's sovereign debt by Standard & Poor's in December.

Source: Agencies

Indonesian tax man jailed for graft

Gayus Tambunan's exploits while supposedly in detention have caused the most uproar apart from the corruption. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 09:03 GMT

Tambunan was sentenced to seven years for gaining millions from companies to help them avoid taxes [EPA] The man at the centre of Indonesia's most closely watched corruption scandal has been sentenced to seven years in jail for gaining millions of dollars from big companies to help them avoid paying taxes. Albertine Hoe, a judge at a district court in the capital Jakarta, said on Wednesday that Gayus Tambunan, a former tax official, was guilty of corruption. She also fined him $30,000. Tambunan's case had made headlines and dominated social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook for months. Tambunan also allegedly embezzling at least $2.7 million, a relatively small sum in a nation considered one of the world's most corrupt. The web of his involvement allegedly extended to senior police, immigration officials and judges. Among Gayus's more daring exploits was to attend a tennis tournament on the island of Bali - while supposedly in detention awaiting sentencing - disguised in a wig. Gayus was a junior official in Indonesia's vast bureaucracy until 2009 when he was charged with accepting millions to wipe vast chunks off the tax books of individuals and companies. After initially being found not guilty, Gayus was re-arrested and charged with corrupting court and law enforcement officials. In subsequent testimony he admitted giving and taking bribes and implicated prominent companies and officials -- including tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of Golkar, the country's second biggest political party. 'Sand castle' Bakrie and his firms have denied any wrongdoing. But it has been Gayus's exploits while supposedly in detention that have caused the most uproar. Photographed in the wig at the Bali tournament, he also made trips to Singapore, Guangzhou and Macau on fake passports - among 60 excursions he apparently made while in detention. Corruption remains a major impediment to Indonesia's growing economy, adding millions of dollars to start-up and operating costs and frequently slows down infrastructure projects. The country ranked 110 last year on Transparency International's corruption perception index. "Gayus has succeeded to rebut all claims about any bureaucratic reform and corruption eradication commitment," Febri Diansyah, researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), told Reuters news agency. "Like a sand castle, it was all torn down by a flick of Gayus' fingers." Details of Gayus's testimony and exploits while under investigation have become so outrageous that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the president, issued a decree on Monday ordering officials to investigate all aspects of the case. Corruption has become a significant issue for Yudhoyono, re-elected in a landslide in April 2009 on a campaign promise to clean up graft and reform the civil service.

Source: Agencies

Arab summit to 'boost economies'

Move comes in the wake of protests across the region against high unemployment, rising prices and corruption. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 10:40 GMT

Fund's spending priority will be given to the less developed countries such as Sudan and Yemen [GALLO/GETTY] In the wake of the economy-related unrest in Tunisia, Arab leaders are expected to commit to a proposed $2bn programme to boost faltering Arab economies. The pledge was made in a document obtained by The Associated Press news agency that is to be adopted by the economic summit opening on Wednesday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. This is "a commitment to provide job opportunities for young Arab people in order to empower them to participate fully in their societies," stated the the summit's final statement document. The idea of the fund was first suggested by Kuwait during the economic summit in the Gulf emirate in 2009. But it has been slow to get off the ground like many Arab League initiatives requiring members to pledge money. However, the economic aspect of the Tunisian revolt, which is mirrored in other countries in the region, may add to the urgency of taking measures to alleviate poverty in the region. Arab diplomats said oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have promised to pay $500mn each and additional pledges are pouring in. Thamer al-Anni, an Arab League official, said some $298mn in additional pledges were made by 11 other member states on Tuesday. He said a special fund would be set up within weeks, after a two-year wait to operate as a bank that provides short and medium-term loans to young Arabs who want to start small businesses. "This will be for businesses with a small capital around $20,000-$50,000," he told AP. He said priority will be given to the less developed countries such as Djibouti, Sudan and Yemen. "All these projects will increase employment and achieve stability in the Arab societies," said Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egyptian Foreign Minister, responding to a question about the impact of the Tunisian situation on the region. Wake-up call The unrest started after a 26-year-old unemployed man in Tunisia set himself on fire last month in protest. The incident sparked a tidal wave of protests that eventually toppled Ben Ali. The death has sparked a rash of copycat attempted suicides in Algeria and Egypt, where two men set themselves on fire on Monday as foreign ministers met to prepare for the summit. One of the seven Algerians died from his burns on Saturday and one Egyptian also succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. Thousands have also demonstrated in Jordan, Egypt, Oman, Libya and Yemen recently over the economic situation, some explicitly in solidarity with the Tunisians. Al Jazeera's correspondent, Rawya Rageh reported from Sharm el-Sheikh that Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president convened the second Arab Economic Summit. In his speech, he did not mention Tunisia even once and focused purely on economic development and cooperation with a mention of the peace process, saying 'peace is coming despite the maneuvers of the occupation.' Emir of Kuwait, the outgoing chair, said that his country was following what is happening in Tunisia closely and wished the Tunisians well in overcoming "this critical stage." "The strongest words came from General Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary, who told Arab leaders that what happened in Tunisia was a result of the region's faltering economies," our correspondent added. He told the gathering that Arabs have been "crushed by poverty and unemployment" and warned that what happened in Tunisia is "not far from the rest of us." Oil-rich nations in the Gulf are taking precautions. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, Kuwait's ruler decreed on Monday that free food rations be given to all Kuwaitis at a cost of $818 million. He also ordered the government to give every Kuwaiti citizen a grant of some $4,000. Saudi King Abdullah also promised to increase government spending in the coming years. He told a Kuwaiti newspaper Monday that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil supplier, plans to spend $68bn next year on projects to reduce unemployment and spur growth.

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies

Vatican abuse cover-up bid revealed

Letter to Irish bishops documents church's emphasis on handling in-house all child-abuse allegations. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 08:31 GMT

Victims' groups say the letter reveals a Vatican-led culture of covering up suspected child-abuse by priests [AFP] Irish broadcaster RTE have uncovered a 1997 letter from the Vatican discouraging Ireland's Catholic bishops from reporting on all suspected child-abuse cases to police. The letter, revealed on Wednesday, documents the church's emphasis to handle in-house all child-abuse allegations and determine punishments instead of delegating that responsibility over to civil authorities. Signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's diplomat to Ireland, the letter came an year after the Vatican's rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to assist police identify pedophile priests when Ireland's first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits. Any bishops who tried to impose punishments outside the confines of canon law would face the "highly embarrassing" position of having their actions overturned on appeal in Rome, Storero wrote. 'Smoking gun' In a statement issued by the Vatican on Wednesday, Reverend Federico Lombardi said: "This circumstance brings about serious problems of a moral and canonical nature that require extreme prudence with the question of mandatory reporting." Child-abuse activists in Ireland said the disclosed document demonstrates that the protection of pedophile priests from criminal investigation was not only sanctioned by Vatican leaders but also ordered by them. Joelle Casteix, a director of the US advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, described the letter as "the smoking gun we've been looking for." She said the letter was certain to be cited by victims' lawyers seeking to pin responsibility directly on the Vatican rather than local dioceses. "We now have evidence that the Vatican deliberately intervened to order bishops not to turn pedophile priests over to law enforcement," Casteix said. And for civil lawsuits, this letter shows what victims have been saying for dozens and dozens of years: What happened to them involved a concerted cover-up that went all the way to the top," she said. Claims refuted Jeffrey Lena, the Vatican's US lawyer, said the letter did no such thing. "The letter nowhere instructed Irish bishops to disregard civil law reporting requirements," he said in a statement. Al Jazeera's Tania Paige reporting from London, said: "For the Vatican's part, they say the letter was written a long time ago and that the document was not a policy but a study draft. Yet without a doubt, the document will do them more harm at a time when they don't need it." To this day, the Vatican has not endorsed any of the Irish church's three major policy documents since 1996 on safeguarding children from clerical abuse. Irish taxpayers, rather than the church, have paid most of the $2 billion to more than 14,000 abuse claimants dating back to the 1940s. In a 2010 pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI faulted bishops for failing to follow canon law and offered no explicit endorsement of Irish child-protection efforts by the Irish church or state. But in his January 1997 letter, Storero told bishops that a senior church panel in Rome, the Congregation for the Clergy, had decided that the Irish church's policy of "mandatory" reporting of abuse claims conflicted with canon law. Storero warned that bishops who followed the Irish child-protection policy and reported a priest's suspected crimes to police risked having their in-house punishments of the priest overturned by the Congregation for the Clergy, which oversees matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders. Legal limbo Colm O'Gorman, the Ireland director of Amnesty International, said: "The letter is of huge international significance, because it shows that the Vatican's intention is to prevent reporting of abuse to criminal authorities. And if that instruction applied here, it applied everywhere." O'Gorman, who was raped repeatedly by an Irish priest in the 1980s when he was an altar boy and was among the first victims to speak out in the mid-1990s, said evidence is growing that some Irish bishops continued to follow the 1997 Vatican instructions and withheld reports of crimes against children as recently as 2008. Today, the Vatican's child-protection policies remain in legal limbo. While the Vatican does advise bishops worldwide to report crimes to police in a legally nonbinding guide on its website, this recourse was omitted from the official legal advice provided by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and updated last summer. However, the powerful policymaking body continues to stress the secrecy of canon law.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Haiti prosecutors charge 'Baby Doc'

Haitian authorities have filed corruption and theft charges against former president Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 00:14 GMT

The graffiti may welcome exiled president Jean-Claude Duvalier, but human rights groups say he should face trial [AFP] Haitian prosecutors have charged Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, a former president, with several crimes, including corruption, theft and the misappropriation of funds during his 15-year rule. Police took Duvalier from the hotel where he was staying in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after he returned to his homeland having spent 25 years in political exile. "His fate is now in the hands of the investigating judge. We have brought charges against him," Aristidas Auguste, Port-au-Prince's chief prosecutor, said. The charges must now be investigated by the judge who will decide whether a judicial case should go ahead. Duvalier was allowed to go free after several hours in a closed-court session on Tuesday, although he is not allowed to leave the country. Duvalier was ousted by a popular revolt in 1986 after his family and supporters were accused of plundering tens of millions of dollars of state funds. The Tonton Macoutes, a secret police force loyal to Duvalier and his father who ruled before him, have been accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing up to 30,000 suspected opponents during the 1960s and 1970s. Goals unclear Al Jazeera's Seb Walker, reporting from Port-au-Prince, said that a few hundred people had gathered to protest against Duvalier's detention, but this was not indicative of a wider popularity in the country. "His political support is not widespread, he is not seen as a figure who is relevant to the Haitian political landscape right now," he said. "The question everyone is asking is why is he actually here? The timing of his return comes at a time when Haiti's political process has ground to a halt. "I don't think he is a key player when it comes to Haitian politics but we haven't heard anything from him at all so we don't know what his political ambitions might be." Haiti's political process has been stalled since disputed presidential elections, which have sparked violence between the backers of rival camps leaving at least five people dead. There are also rumours that Duvalier, 59, is ill and that he wants to see his country once more before he dies. Duvalier had earlier told a Florida radio station he was not returning as a presidential candidate, saying: "This is not the order of the day." In 2007, Duvalier called on Haitians to forgive him for the "mistakes" committed during his reign. 'Slap in the face' Human rights groups criticised his return on Monday, saying he should be arrested and prosecuted. "Duvalier's return to Haiti should be for one purpose only: to face justice," Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director of Human Rights Watch, said. "Under the presidency of Duvalier ... thousands were killed and tortured, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians fled into exile. His time to be held accountable is long overdue. "Haiti has enough troubles without Duvalier. Duvalier's presence - unless he is immediately arrested - is a slap in the face to a people which has already suffered so much." Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake in January 2010, followed by a cholera outbreak and a hurricane in November, which flooded the country's coastal towns.

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies

Afghan civilians killed in blast

An improvised explosive device went off as a rickshaw hit it, killing women and children. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 10:14 GMT

There have been three roadside bombings in the last four days in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, a roadside bomb has killed 13 civilians, including women and children, according to an official. The device went off as a rickshaw hit it on Wednesday morning. The incident took place in Nawi Kali area, Khoshamand district of Paktika province, which is on Afghanistan's border region with Pakistan, where Taliban fighters have hideouts. Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan's people", a phrase often used by officials to refer to the Taliban. Afghanistan National Police has launched an investigation into the case. A total of 28 Afghan civilians have now been killed in three roadside bombings in the last four days. The latest incident comes three days after nine civilians, including six women, two men and a child, died in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan when they were travelling to a wedding on a road often used by foreign forces. A day earlier, another roadside bomb killed six people travelling in a minibus in the Sangin district of Helmand province in the troubled south. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or home-made bombs are the weapon of choice for insurgents and are a frequent cause of death for civilians as well as foreign troops in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say that last year 2,043 civilians died as a result of Taliban attacks and military operations targeting the fighters.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies