Bush supports Aceh peace accord<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, New York<\/p>\n
Whatever the results of the World Summit, what is more urgent
\nfor President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is what concrete results
\nhe can bring home from his 10-day visit to the United States,
\nincluding a six-day stay in New York to attend the summit until
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
His biggest diplomatic gain was clearly the strong support
\nfrom United States President George W. Bush for the government's
\npeace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Bush told him
\nthat the U.S. administration fully backed the agreement and would
\nhelp Indonesia maintain peace in the war and tsunami-devastated
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
He had a chance to talk with Bush during the 90-minute working
\nluncheon, which was hosted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on
\nWednesday local time at the UN headquarters. He was seated next
\nto Bush at a table along with Annan, Russian President Vladimir
\nPutin, Spanish King Juan Carlos, Jordan King Abdullah and Chilean
\nPresident Ricardo Lagos.<\/p>\n
\"President Bush welcomes the peace process in Aceh,\" said
\npresidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal after accompanying
\nSusilo at a teleconference with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on
\nWednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the morning, European Union Secretary-General
\nJavier Solana also expressed similar support for the Aceh deal
\nduring a meeting with Susilo earlier in the morning. Solana did
\nnot talk to the media because they met in a very small room and
\nthe room would be used by another delegation soon after their
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
\"The EU is also a member of the Aceh Monitoring Mission,\" said
\nDino.<\/p>\n
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz also met with Susilo at
\nthe latter's hotel. The former U.S. deputy secretary of defense
\nemphasized that he came as and old friend of the President and
\nIndonesia. The bank has pledged commitment to the reconstruction
\nof Aceh, he said.<\/p>\n
Susilo, however, must exercise patience in getting concrete
\nresults from his meeting with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan
\nbin Abdul Aziz. Before meeting with the prince, he disclosed a
\nplan to ask for help from the oil-rich country to assist
\nIndonesia in coping with rising oil price, including by possibly
\nsending its crude oil to an Indonesian refinery for processing.<\/p>\n
Dino only said the two leaders discussed the oil problem but
\nhe did not mention the prince's response to Susilo's request.<\/p>\n
While with Jordanian King Abdullah, the President apologized
\nfor the cancellation of his visit to the Middle East. He
\noriginally planned to visit several Middle East countries,
\nincluding Jordan, on the way home from New York to Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bush-supports-aceh-peace-accord-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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