European Parliament vows support for Indonesia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Visiting envoys of the European Parliament began
\non Tuesday a visit aimed at exploring what the parliament can do
\nto help Indonesia develop democracy, empower the people and
\nestablish good and clean governance, specifically at provincial
\nand regency levels.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a media conference that marked the start of their
\nfive-day visit to the country, Nirj Deva and John Bowis from the
\nCommittee on Development and Cooperation of the parliament
\nunderlined their organization's support for Indonesia now that it
\nhad embarked on its critical chapter of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
\"I have to underscore that we are here to listen to what is
\nbest for the country. We are not here to support separatism or
\nbattle or tell Indonesia what to do,\" Bowis told journalists.<\/p>\n
\"What we would like to do here is to enhance peace and the
\ndemocratization process in the country.\"<\/p>\n
Deva said that the parliament would provide help on the things
\nthat it was good at, including democratization, human rights and
\nthe empowerment of people at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n
For these purposes, he said the 15-nation parliament had
\nprovided US$20 billion in financial aid for people around the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
Deva stressed that empowering the people, through the
\nimplementation of regional autonomy, was the best way for a
\ncountry to move forward, improving people's potential and letting
\nthe people also share the fruits of the country.<\/p>\n
He underlined that Indonesia was very important to the
\nparliament due to the fact that it is the largest Muslim country
\nin the world and because of its vast territory.<\/p>\n
\"It is very important to raise the profile of Indonesia in the
\nEuropean Parliament ... What happens in Indonesia will have an
\nimpact on China and the rest of Asia,\" Deva said.<\/p>\n
During their visit, the two members are scheduled to hold
\ntalks with President Abdurrahman Wahid, House of Representative
\nSpeaker Akbar Tandjung, several ministers and legislators.<\/p>\n
The visit of the parliament representatives was arranged by
\nthe Institute for Good Governance and Regional Development
\n(IGGRD), a non-governmental organization founded by Matori Abdul
\nDjalil and Willi Toisuta. (dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/european-parliament-vows-support-for-indonesia-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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