Albright moves to smooth ties with RI<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
\nAlbright sought on Monday to smooth strained ties with Indonesia,
\nassuring its foreign minister of Washington's desire for a \"very
\nclose\" relationship.<\/p>\n
But her spokesman said that neither side proposed reviving the
\naborted sale of American-made F-16 jet fighters to Indonesia nor
\nJakarta's participation in a U.S. program called IMET to train
\nforeign military officers.<\/p>\n
Albright \"really went out of her way to convey to Foreign
\nMinister (Ali) Alatas that Indonesia is a country with which the
\nUnited States wants to have a very close relationship,\" State
\nDepartment spokesman Nicholas Burns said.<\/p>\n
\"The secretary said the United States greatly values the
\nrelationship with Indonesia. It is an exceedingly important
\ncountry in this part of the world and is important for regional
\nstability,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
She also told Alatas \"we need to build on it (the
\nrelationship) and put some of the disappointments, like the F-16
\nissue, the IMET issue, behind us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The two ministers met on the fringes of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual meeting.<\/p>\n
Many U.S. officials and non-government experts see Indonesia
\nas the key to an effective and cohesive ASEAN and a regional
\ncounterweight to an increasingly powerful China.<\/p>\n
On June 7, Indonesia suspended participation in the IMET
\n(International Military Education Training) program with the
\nUnited States as well as consideration of buying used F-16s.<\/p>\n
Jakarta acted to head off attempts by the U.S. Congress to
\nstop both programs because of alleged human rights abuses.<\/p>\n
Indonesia felt the Clinton administration was unwilling to
\ndefend its participation in the programs because of scandals
\nconcerning Indonesian political donations to President Bill
\nClinton's Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
Asia expert Richard Fisher of the Heritage Foundation said
\nahead of Albright's third Asia trip this year that the secretary
\nshould emphasize in her talks with Alatas that the United States
\nplaced great value on IMET training and arms compatibility and
\nask Indonesia to reconsider its decision.<\/p>\n
Burns said \"the IMET and F-16 issues are closed. There was no
\nattempt by either side to resurrect them.\"<\/p>\n
The spokesman made no mention of a discussion of the touchy
\npolitical donations question.<\/p>\n
But he said Albright \"praised Alatas for having been a very
\ngood friend of the United States, personally and for having done
\na lot to promote the relationship.\"<\/p>\n
The two ministers discussed East Timor -- the former
\nPortuguese colony that integrated into Indonesia in 1975 -- and
\nAlbright said she hoped UN-sponsored talks on the issue between
\nPortugal and Indonesia would continue.<\/p>\n
Burns also said Albright told Alatas \"we have some concerns
\nabout the human rights situation and that would have to remain a
\nlarge issue in the relationship.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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