PM Hashimoto due in Jakarta for crisis talks<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto is
\nscheduled to arrive here Saturday evening for a two-day working
\nvisit, a senior government official confirmed yesterday.<\/p>\n
Hashimoto is expected to bridge a dispute between the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and President Soeharto over the
\nlatter's plan to peg the rupiah at a fixed rate to the U.S.
\ndollar under a currency board system.<\/p>\n
\"The two leaders are expected to focus their discussion on the
\ncurrent economic crisis in the region, especially in Indonesia,
\nand on what Japan can do to help our country,\" the senior
\nofficial, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.<\/p>\n
\"We hope he can help us solve our economic crisis,\" said the
\nofficial.<\/p>\n
Hashimoto will arrive only hours after the President is set to
\nannounce his cabinet line-up Saturday morning, another government
\nsource said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"This is totally a coincidence, it has nothing to do with
\nHashimoto's arrival,\" said the source.<\/p>\n
The prime minister's office announced in Tokyo that Hashimoto
\nwould hold bilateral talks with President Soeharto on Sunday and
\nwould leave Jakarta after the meeting. He will be the first
\nforeign leader to meet with Soeharto after the President's
\nreelection yesterday.<\/p>\n
AFP quoted the prime minister as saying that Japan would seek
\nto help Indonesia through its problems with the IMF but said
\nconfusion in the country persists.<\/p>\n
\"I respect his (Soeharto's) efforts to continue taking
\nresponsibility and hope Indonesia will recover as soon as
\npossible,\" the news agency quoted Hashimoto as saying.<\/p>\n
Japan is Indonesia's largest trading partner and creditor and
\nhas pledged US$5 billion to support the $43 billion IMF rescue
\npackage for Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It's useful for both of the countries to hold frank talks
\nnow,\" a foreign ministry official said in Tokyo yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The two leaders are to discuss cooperation between the two
\ncountries and economic issues,\" the official said.<\/p>\n
In a guarded reaction to a question on Soeharto's handling of
\nhis ailing economy, Hashimoto said he respected the President's
\nefforts to take responsibility for the country's woes.<\/p>\n
The IMF has called on Soeharto to follow a strict reform
\nprogram to pull Indonesia out of its crisis and unlock stalled
\npayments from its rescue fund.<\/p>\n
\"Confusion (in Indonesia) has continued, but we will also
\ncontinue making our efforts,\" Hashimoto said<\/p>\n
The press in Tokyo greeted Soeharto's appointment the day
\nbefore his swearing in yesterday with a slap in the face for his
\neconomic policies and a warning that the collapse of Indonesia
\ncould have a global impact.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's plan to peg the rupiah to the dollar and tie the
\nvalue of currency in circulation to its reserves \"could pose a
\ngreat risk to his nation's economy,\" the Daily Yomiuri said in an
\neditorial.<\/p>\n
\"It is important to note that the impact of a full-scale
\ncatastrophe in the Indonesian economy would not only affect other
\nAsian nations, but also the rest of the world,\" it said.
\n\"Needless to say, Japan would not be spared this worst-case
\nscenario.\"<\/p>\n
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said the international community,
\nincluding Japan, must urgently make Soeharto \"understand real
\nsolutions to Indonesia's problems\".<\/p>\n
\"If Indonesia's defiance of the IMF, Japan and the United
\nStates goes too far, it will only invite a tragedy, the country's
\nisolation from the international community,\" the paper warned.<\/p>\n
\"The Soeharto regime should listen to advice from the
\ninternational community and present a clear direction to say
\nwhere the country will be heading in the future.\"<\/p>\n
The conservative Sankei Shimbun said Soeharto's defiance of
\nthe IMF \"is dangerous\" and the first thing he should do \"is to
\nimplement the IMF scheme\".<\/p>\n
Soeharto was stepping up his defiance of the United States and
\nthe IMF \"out of pride\", the paper said in an editorial.<\/p>\n
\"Japan must play a positive role to ease tensions between
\nSoeharto, the IMF and the United States,\" it said. (prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pm-hashimoto-due-in-jakarta-for-crisis-talks-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}