Abdurrahman says Bush supports him

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid is looking to the United States as a political ally to save his faltering administration, claiming in an interview that Washington fully supports his government and the process of democratization.

His statements comes as the President plans to conduct a visit to the United States in June, to be preceded by his Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab.

In an interview in Tuesday's edition of the Bangkok Post, Abdurrahman claimed that "the people who would like to topple me have gone to the United States to meet President (George W.) Bush but they have been rejected by the U.S. government."

Abdurrahman held the interview during a one-day visit to Thailand on Monday.

"The U.S. government is supporting us ... It believes that the democratization process should be defended and maintained," he was quoted as saying.

The newspaper further quoted Abdurrahman as saying that the majority of Indonesian people and the military were "firmly behind me".

Abdurrahman further insisted that Indonesia would fully recover from the economic crisis "in the next several months".

The International Monetary Fund understood that it would be "political suicide" for his government to stop subsidizing poor farmers, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said here he would also visit the United States to reassure Washington that Indonesia was not conducting military operations to crush separatists in the troubled province of Aceh.

He said he would explain to congressional leaders that Jakarta was promoting dialog with rebels and speeding up development in the oil and gas-rich region.

He told reporters he would leave for Washington late on Tuesday.

Alwi said he would urge the Bush administration not to "perceive the government's comprehensive plan of action as a military operation."

Abdurrahman's visit to the United States is expected to include a health checkup.

The President has already had several medical checkups in the United States, the last time being in September.

While there is no official confirmation yet from the palace on the visit, which is expected to include a meeting with U.S. President Bush, Abdurrahman told Newsweek magazine in an interview last week that he plans to visit "in the last week of June."

One of the likely topics expected to be raised while in the United States is the arms embargo imposed by Washington on Indonesia.

Washington cut military ties with Indonesia in September 1999 after the wave of terror which hit the former province of East Timor.

The embargo was slowly relaxed late last year to allow the Air Force and navy to purchase spare parts for equipment such as non- combat aircraft and cargo ships.

Washington has said that the embargo would only be lifted if a judicial process is launched against those who were allegedly involved in human rights abuses in the former Indonesian province.