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Alatas denies nomination for U.N. secretary-general

JAKARTA: Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas denied on Wednesday reports that he had been either officially or secretly nominated for the post of United Nations's secretary-general.

"It is not true. It is not true that Indonesia has submitted a candidate to hold the position as the U.N. secretary-general either openly or not," he told reporters.

The Kompas newspaper said on Wednesday some countries, which it did not name, had put the name of Alatas forward as U.N. secretary-general to replace Boutros Boutros-Ghali at an election due next January.

Kompas quoted unidentified sources as saying Jakarta had not announced Alatas' candidacy but that Security Council members such as the United States and Britain had no objection to him.

Alatas, a former journalist, has been foreign minister since 1988. He is seen as a close confidant of long-time President Suharto.-Reuter