Bush praises Megawati, offers condolences<\/p>\n
Olivier Knox
\nLos Cabos, Mexico<\/p>\n
United States President George W. Bush told Indonesian President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri on Saturday that he will consider
\nincreased U.S. aid to help Jakarta battle militants tied to
\nglobal terrorism, U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n
Meeting on the sidelines of the 21-nation Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Bush praised Megawati's
\ncrackdown on terrorism but said she still has \"a ways to go,\"
\nsaid a senior official who declined to be named.<\/p>\n
He also \"expressed his condolences for the loss of the many
\ninnocent lives in the savage attack on Bali,\" referring to the
\nOct. bombing that turned a packed nightclub into a killing ground
\nfor hundreds, the official said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. president said that the car blast \"showed the reach\"
\nof Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, which has claimed
\nresponsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade
\nCenter and the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
Bush said Jakarta must now arrest terrorists, try them fairly,
\nand convict the guilty, said the official, who told reporters
\nthat the U.S. leader promised Megawati: \"We will be there to help
\nyou to the extent possible.\"<\/p>\n
\"He did say that, if Indonesia had concrete requests, that we
\nwould consider them,\" said the official.<\/p>\n
Another senior administration official, who also requested
\nanonymity, said Bush reacted cautiously when Megawati had raised
\nthe prospects for beefed-up U.S. assistance to Indonesia's
\nmilitary and law-enforcement.<\/p>\n
\"Our position is that if there are any formal requests, we'll
\ncertainly, as with all requests, look at them, with several
\nthings in mind including the issue of human rights,\" the second
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
Two months before the Bali attacks, Washington pledged over
\nUS$50 million in aid to buttress Indonesia's counter-terrorism
\nefforts, which it has frequently criticized in the past.<\/p>\n
The sum, to be disbursed over several years, includes $4
\nmillion in counterterrorism training for military officials and
\nanother $47 million for the national police.<\/p>\n
Washington hopes to gradually beef up the spending program to
\ntrain the Indonesian military once concerns about human rights
\nand about accountability for the 1999 carnage in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Rather than criticize Megawati's efforts to eradicate
\nterrorism, Bush \"did express appreciation for the difficulties
\nshe has faced up to now in trying to crack down,\" said the first
\nU.S. official.<\/p>\n
Characterizing Islam in Indonesia as largely moderate, the
\nfirst U.S. official said there is \"a small minority of the
\npopulation that is fairly extreme\" and later added that the
\ngovernment that knows it must target that small group.<\/p>\n
Washington has praised the Indonesian leader for the arrest of
\na Muslim cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, thought to be the spiritual
\nleader of a Southeast Asian radical Islamic group.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials also point to the passage of a tough security
\ndecree following the car-bomb massacre on Bali -- Southeast
\nAsia's own version of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United
\nStates.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bush-praises-megawati-offers-condolences-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}