Shadows on the wall for President Susilo<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post\/New York<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Tony Blair shook hands with President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono in front of the United Nations Security
\nCouncil office on Thursday (local time) and softly said,\"God
\nbless you\" to Susilo after a photo session.<\/p>\n
The President was all-smiles after finishing the 30-minute
\nbilateral talks with Blair at the office.<\/p>\n
At the talks, Susilo won Blair's support for the peace
\nagreement between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
\nafter he received similar encouragement from U.S. President
\nGeorge W. Bush a day earlier.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, there was to be another bonus. U.S. Secretary of
\nState Condoleezza Rice was expected to pay a courtesy hotel call
\nto the President on Thursday evening. All strictly diplomatic, of
\ncourse.<\/p>\n
Winning international support for the Helsinki peace deal is
\ncertainly important for Susilo, who needs international
\nrecognition for the deal to harden support for the idea at home
\nand silence the factions trying to capitalize on opposition to
\nit.<\/p>\n
The President has vowed not to repeat Indonesia's mistakes
\nthat led to the 1999 independence of East Timor by resolving the
\nreal roots of Aceh's rebellion against the central government.<\/p>\n
Susilo was clearly proud to be seated next to Bush a day
\nearlier during a working luncheon hosted by UN secretary-general
\nKofi Annan and a photo opportunity with Blair was another plus.<\/p>\n
However, the President may not have realized he was standing
\nwith Blair in front of a picture of a smiling Timor Leste
\nPresident Xanana Gusmao, while a very real Timor Leste foreign
\nminister and Xanana's representative at the summit, Jose Ramos-
\nHorta, stood slightly to his side.<\/p>\n
The picture on the wall was of Xanana and Kofi Annan during
\nthe flag-raising ceremony at the United Nations headquarters,
\nmarking the admission of Timor Leste as the 191st member of the
\nworld body.<\/p>\n
The picture hung in the corridor along with other pictures of
\nself-determination referendums in other countries.<\/p>\n
For the Indonesians who noticed, this was a moment pregnant
\nwith symbolism. Could Aceh, we wondered, follow Timor Leste's
\npath if the situation there was again allowed to deteriorate into
\nviolence?<\/p>\n
Would future Indonesian presidents at future UN summits end up
\nstanding in front of the UN's latest member country, the
\nIndependent Republic of Aceh?<\/p>\n
With the deal still in its infancy, Susilo and his government
\nhave a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n
Blair's \"God bless you,\" was a nice gesture, but perhaps he
\ncould have added \"God help you\" too.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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