Indonesia's neighbors concerned over riots<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia said yesterday that it is
\nconcerned over unrest in Indonesia and is closely monitoring the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
\"We are of course concerned, monitoring this very closely,\"
\nDeputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters. \"But we wish
\nthem all the best, that they are able to resolve this period of
\ndifficulties.\"<\/p>\n
In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai expressed hopes
\nyesterday that riots in Indonesia would not escalate, but said he
\ncould not forecast an end to the violence.<\/p>\n
Thailand's powerful army chief Chetta Thanajaro added that the
\nThai military was prepared to evacuate some 500 Thais living in
\nIndonesia if the situation deteriorated.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot predict the situation there because of the
\ndistance...but only offer support and hope that Indonesia would
\nmanage to find peace and solutions,\" Chuan said.<\/p>\n
\"As a friend and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian
\nNations) member, we must offer assistance as its problems would
\naffect us one way or the other.\"<\/p>\n
Chuan said Thailand would feel the negative economic impact of
\nthe Indonesian violence but the shock would be less severe than
\nthat felt by Singapore or Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Army commander in chief Chetta said he expected Indonesia's
\nPresident Soeharto to control the spreading riots and protests.<\/p>\n
\"I think President Soeharto will eventually manage to keep the
\nsituation under control,\" Chetta told reporters.<\/p>\n
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said China
\nis concerned over the riots in Indonesia and hoped the crisis-
\nridden country could maintain national harmony.<\/p>\n
\"We have noticed unrest in some areas of Indonesia recently,
\nand the Chinese side voices its concern over this,\" Zhu told a
\nregular news briefing.<\/p>\n
In Canberra, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the
\nworsening violence in Indonesia was deeply disturbing and urged
\nsecurity forces there to exercise restraint in dealing with the
\nprotests.<\/p>\n
\"The disturbances which have occurred are deeply disturbing,\"
\nHoward said.<\/p>\n
\"We express the profound hope that there will be no more
\nviolence and no more deaths, and we ask the government of
\nIndonesia to ensure that the security forces of the country
\nbehave with appropriate restraint,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, said
\nmounting instability and violence in Indonesia were putting
\nsevere pressure on President Soeharto's government.<\/p>\n
\"It's not for me to get into speculating about the politics of
\nother countries, but obviously the Soeharto regime is under a
\ngreat deal of pressure now,\" Downer told Sydney radio 2UE, when
\nasked if the violence spelt the end for Soeharto's government.<\/p>\n
\"A near neighbor is in a state of instability -- it doesn't
\nmean there's going to be any direct effect on our country, but it
\nobviously is a matter for concern and something we have to
\nwatch.\"<\/p>\n
Change<\/p>\n
The leader of Australia's Labor opposition party, Kim Beazley,
\nsaid the student deaths meant the instability could not be
\nignored anymore and the government now had to use its influence
\nto force change in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Not only does it contain within it the seeds of potentially
\nterrible loss of life in Indonesia, it has also got a regional
\noutreach that none of Indonesia's good friends and neighbors can
\nignore,\" Beazley told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"There has to be a political transition. There has to be
\npolitical change.\"<\/p>\n
In London, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Indonesia
\nwas paying the price for ignoring his warnings last year that
\ncivil liberties were critical to economic success.<\/p>\n
Cook, speaking to BBC radio, also stressed that Britain's new
\nLabour government had refused to sell Indonesia equipment that
\ncould be used for internal repression.<\/p>\n
Cook said what was happening in Indonesia, where mobs have
\nrampaged through the capital Jakarta for three days, underscored
\nthe importance of open government to a flourishing economy.<\/p>\n
\"In Jakarta last August I said that civil liberty and open
\ngovernment were not the enemies of economic success. Nowadays
\nthey are conditions for it,\" said Cook, who has vowed to make
\nBritain's foreign policy more ethically based.<\/p>\n
\"Sadly what is currently happening in Indonesia actually
\nunderlines how true that is and how tragic it is that the
\ngovernment of Indonesia have not grasped that ... yet,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Cook said that although some British equipment -- such as
\nwater cannon -- has been used to suppress riots in Indonesia,
\nnone of it had been exported since the Labour government took
\npower.<\/p>\n
\"Sadly it does appear to be the case that some of the
\nequipment used in those riots are from Britain,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"They would, of course, not have been sold under the new
\ncriteria which we brought in and under which we have refused
\nseven applications from Indonesia very much for the type of
\nequipment that the previous government did sell,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We made a very clear distinction between legitimate defense
\nexports for self-defense which could not be used for internal
\nrepression and equipment, such as equipment sold by the last
\ngovernment like the water cannons, which can be.\"<\/p>\n
In Moscow, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
\nsaid all sides in the political conflict in Indonesia should show
\nrestraint and begin a dialog.<\/p>\n
\"Clearly, as a number of U.S. officials have stated, restraint
\non all sides is very important. Opening up to political dialog is
\nessential,\" he said, adding that economic problems, not
\nInternational Monetary Fund remedies, had created the conditions
\nthat have caused popular unrest.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the IMF had contributed to the crisis, he said:
\n\"I think it is very important not to confuse the doctor with the
\ndisease.\"<\/p>\n
Summers, who was in Moscow for meetings with Russian
\nofficials, said: \"The fundamental cause of price increases,
\ninflationary pressures, is the econ conditions...rather than the
\nprogram that is in place with the IMF.\"<\/p>\n
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta urged American citizens to defer
\nnon-essential travel to Indonesia, an official said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Mike Owens, the No. 2 official at the U.S. Embassy, said
\ndependents of embassy staff and non-essential personnel were also
\nfree to leave the country.<\/p>\n
Japan<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Japan, the main financial backer of Indonesia, said
\nyesterday that it was becoming very concerned about growing
\nunrest in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Chief government spokesman Kanezo Muraoka said Japan was
\nclosely monitoring the situation in Indonesia which in the year
\nto last March received aid totaling 215.25 billion yen (US$1.60
\nbillion) from Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\"We are very concerned (about the situation in Indonesia),\"
\nMuraoka told his regular daily news conference.<\/p>\n
Asked about the safety of Japanese citizens in Indonesia,
\nestimated at around 20,000 including tourists, Muraoka said: \"We
\nare carefully monitoring the situation.\"<\/p>\n
But he said Japan's military was not considering at this stage
\nsending planes to Indonesia to evacuate its citizens.<\/p>\n
In Bonn, a senior German government official said the world's
\nmajor industrial nations would discuss the economic crisis and
\nsocial unrest rocking Indonesia at its Birmingham summit this
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there
\nhad been significant progress in calming the financial crisis in
\nKorea and Thailand, but added that political problems remained in
\nIndonesia. \"I expect this to be discussed by the chiefs in
\nBirmingham.\"<\/p>\n
Germany yesterday warned its citizens not to travel to
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Because of the tense situation in Indonesia the Foreign
\nMinistry advises travelers not to go to Indonesia (with the
\nexception of Bali) for the time being,\" the ministry said.<\/p>\n
The European Union on Wednesday called on the Indonesian
\ngovernment to investigate deaths in recent disturbances and to
\nrefrain from lethal force.<\/p>\n
\"The recent upsurge in violence and loss of life in Indonesia
\nis disturbing,\" said a statement released by the Foreign Office
\nin Britain, the current president of the EU.<\/p>\n
\"The EU has frequently urged the Indonesian authorities to
\nexercise maximum restraint in handling civil disturbances and
\nstressed the importance of respecting freedom of association and
\nspeech. The confrontation with the students underlines the urgent
\nneed for political reform in Indonesia,\" the statement said.<\/p>",
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