Albright praises Indonesian reforms<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
\nAlbright made full use of her stay here on Friday, meeting
\nPresident B.J. Habibie for two hours lauding Indonesian reforms,
\nbefore going on to meet with East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre
\n\"Xanana\" Gusmao and a group of community and political leaders.<\/p>\n
She finished her whirlwind two-day visit here Friday evening
\nwhen she departed for London on a 7.30 p.m. special flight.<\/p>\n
In the meeting with Habibie, Albright praised Indonesian
\nreforms, saying she saw a democratic spirit \"blooming\" in the
\ncountry as it nears its first post-Soeharto elections in June.<\/p>\n
Albright also said she was impressed by Indonesia's
\nimprovements in the area of human rights but added Washington
\nwould like to see more progress.<\/p>\n
\"Generally ... there is obviously a huge improvement in the
\nhuman rights situation in Indonesia and we consider continued
\nwork on human rights issues very important,\" she said.<\/p>\n
But Albright saw a \"new spirit of democracy blooming\" in
\nIndonesia and said she believed Habibie was committed to holding
\na free and fair election after his taking office when veteran
\npresident Soeharto stepped down amid mass unrest last May.<\/p>\n
\"The sense that I got from talking to the president is one
\nthat he is obviously devoted to having this happen, a free and
\nfair and open election,\" Albright said.<\/p>\n
Habibie had even inquired whether former U.S. president Jimmy
\nCarter, who has led election monitoring teams in several
\ncountries, might come to observe the June 7 polls, Albright said.<\/p>\n
Albright expressed hope the government and poll officials will
\ndo their best to prevent the elections and the electoral campaign
\nfrom becoming violent or degenerating into vote-buying.<\/p>\n
Some 48 political parties, including one which was once
\nbanned, were Thursday said to be eligible to take part in the
\npolls, which will be the first since the end of Soeharto's 32-
\nyear iron-fisted rule that was marked by accusations of power
\nabuses.<\/p>\n
After meeting Xanana, Albright met with pro-integration East
\nTimorese group leader Dominggo Soares. Later, she met with a
\nnumber of political leaders and human rights activists in two
\nseparate round-table discussions at a Central Jakarta hotel.<\/p>\n
Among the political leaders were Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nleader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan), Amien Rais, leader of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN) and Abdurrahman Wahid, leader of the 30 million-strong
\nNahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization.<\/p>\n
Albright also met with former defense minister Edi Sudradjat,
\nwho leads the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), Investment Minister
\nHamzah Haz, who is also the leader of the United Development
\nParty (PPP), former political prisoner Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who
\nnow leads the Indonesian Union Democratic Party (PUDI), leader of
\nthe Crescent Star Party Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Deliar Noer of the
\nMuslim Ummat Party, Nur Mahmudi Ismail, president of the Justice
\nParty, Supeni of the Indonesian Nationalist Party and Golkar
\nchairman Akbar Tandjung, who is also Minister\/State Secretary.<\/p>\n
Amien said after the meeting that Washington regards Jakarta's
\nwillingness to accept observers as an \"important sign,\"<\/p>\n
\"It was a very good and normal meeting and it was more of a
\ncase of her familiarizing herself with the human rights situation
\nin the country,\" leading human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman
\ntold The Jakarta Post by phone.<\/p>\n
Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, Muslim scholar Nurcholish
\nMadjid, senior journalist Goenawan Mohamad, women's rights
\nactivist Ita Fatia Nadia and sociologist Mely G. Tan were also
\npresent on Friday.<\/p>\n
Marzuki, who is also chairman of the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, said that \"in a general sense, Albright wanted to
\nknow how the U.S. could assist in the dialog between the civil
\ngroups and the military in Indonesia\".<\/p>\n
He also said that he mentioned the ongoing trial of 11 Army
\nSpecial Forces (Kopassus) soldiers charged with abducting a
\nnumber of political activists in the last months of Soeharto's
\nrule.<\/p>\n
\"We have great press freedom and there is more room now for
\npolitical parties to operate, but in contrast with that we still
\nhave unresolved cases of human rights abuses including the
\nabductions and the related ongoing trial of the Kopassus
\nsoldiers,\" Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists have said the trial of the 11 Kopassus
\nsoldiers was a \"farce\", insisting that it is only a charade to
\nprotect senior military officers and Soeharto.<\/p>\n
\"What I argued was that there was still not uniform
\nprogression. There were only several areas of development,\"
\nMarzuki said.<\/p>\n
Albright arrived on Thursday prompting tight security measures
\nas some roads closed, causing heavy traffic congestion in parts
\nof the capital. (byg\/prb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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