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Indonesia president to act on row Yudhoyono speaks on Indonesia row
(about 6 hours later)
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is due to announce what action he will take on a high-level corruption scandal. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said two officials at the centre of a high level corruption scandal should not face trial.
He has already warned Indonesian media it will be "controversial". The president said the case, which caused public outrage when it emerged the two could have been framed, should be settled out of court.
The scandal has pitted the country's anti-corruption agency against senior law enforcement officials.The scandal has pitted the country's anti-corruption agency against senior law enforcement officials.
An independent inquiry said the police case against two anti-corruption officials accused of extortion and abuse of power should be dropped. Anti-corruption activists criticised the president's announcement.
The case caused public outrage when it emerged they could have been framed. He needed to go further to prove he was serious about clamping down on corruption, they said.
In his televised speech to the nation, the president said the two officials should not face trial so "the image of Indonesia in the eyes of the world improves".
But he also said he could not interfere with the investigations.
Frequent protests
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports from Jakarta there had been high hopes that what the president said would draw a line under the ongoing corruption scandal that has transfixed the nation.
But instead it raised even more questions about his commitment to root out graft in this country, she says.
ANALYSIS Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Jakarta The case of Mr Rianto and Mr Hamzah has angered many Indonesians. They see the arrests of the two anti-corruption officials as an attempt by the police and the attorney general's office to target the powerful agency.
Indonesians were looking to their president for leadership. They were hoping he would demand that officials in the police and judiciary should resign.
Instead, what they got was what some political analysts have called a typically Javanese approach to a difficult situation.
The Indonesian leader opted for the middle ground - a decision many say could cost him the support of the public who voted him back into power earlier this year. Q&A: Corruption scandal
An independent inquiry had already recommended that the police case against two anti-corruption officials accused of extortion and abuse of power should be dropped.
The two men - Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah - have been released, but the police and the attorney general's office have so far refused to drop their case.The two men - Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah - have been released, but the police and the attorney general's office have so far refused to drop their case.
Public sympathy has been growing for the anti-corruption agency - known by its acronym KPK - with almost daily protests on the streets of Jakarta urging the president to act decisively.Public sympathy has been growing for the anti-corruption agency - known by its acronym KPK - with almost daily protests on the streets of Jakarta urging the president to act decisively.
Corruption promise Indonesians do not have much faith in many of their institutions, like the police force or the judiciary, but the KPK is one thing many of them do believe in, our correspondent says.
Indonesians do not have much faith in many of their institutions, like the police force or the judiciary. But the KPK is one thing many of them do believe in, says the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta. She says they see the case against the two KPK men as an outrageous injustice - an attempt by Indonesia's police to weaken the powerful agency, which has earned itself a reputation for putting corrupt officials behind bars, even those in high places.
They see the case against the two KPK men as an outrageous injustice - an attempt by Indonesia's police to weaken the powerful agency, which has earned itself a reputation for putting corrupt officials behind bars, even those in high places, our correspondent says.
ANALYSIS Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Jakarta Most Indonesians have had to deal with corruption at some point in their lives, which is why so many in the country have rallied behind the anti-corruption commission.
Indonesians want to see the people who they believe have unfairly targeted the KPK punished.
Most people have lost faith in the police force and the judiciary - dubbed the "legal mafia" by the press - but the KPK is one thing many Indonesians do believe in.
President Yudhoyono was re-elected in July because of his promises to root out corruption in this country. How he handles this case will be seen as a test of that commitment.
The alleged conspiracy against the KPK was revealed in wiretaps played in court earlier this month, in which senior officials from the national police and the attorney general's office discussed plans to undermine the agency.The alleged conspiracy against the KPK was revealed in wiretaps played in court earlier this month, in which senior officials from the national police and the attorney general's office discussed plans to undermine the agency.
President Yudhoyono has been under pressure to come up with a solution to this problem, with mounting criticism that he has been slow to act.President Yudhoyono has been under pressure to come up with a solution to this problem, with mounting criticism that he has been slow to act.
He was re-elected in July on his promise to clamp down on corruption. How he handles this case will be seen as a test of that commitment. He was re-elected in July on his promise to clamp down on corruption.
On Sunday he summoned journalists to the State Palace to tell them he was seeking an out-of-court settlement to the case against the two KPK officials, Indonesian media reported.
He said he would reveal details of his course of action on Monday.
"It will be controversial, it will have consequences, but it's a risk that I have to take," he said.
"I don't want this disharmony between the KPK, the National Police and the Attorney General Office to be permanent. This has to stop," he added.