Amien denies links to the U.S.

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais denied on Saturday he was selling out politically by seeking support in the U.S., long a frequent target of his criticism.

Amien defended a recent weeklong trip to the U.S. as an opportunity to "anticipate and prepare myself as a leader of a fast growing new party which aims to guide the country to a better future". He returned last Saturday.

He briefed the media after the launching of his latest book Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism in Indonesia at the office of the Muhammadiyah Muslim organization in Central Jakarta

During the trip, the staunch critic of U.S. policy in the Middle East met with several congressmen, four former U.S. ambassadors to Indonesia, including Paul Wolfowitz, representatives of John Hopkins University and USAID and the Indonesian community in Washington, D.C.

He said the U.S. was only one of several countries on his travel itinerary.

"I visited Libya with Syafii Maarif (chairman of Muhammadiyah) and met the country's leader Moamar Qaddafi. The press never knew that.

"I met Qaddafi twice in a day and his assistant told me that never before had a guest met him twice, it was so special."

Amien also visited Iran, Iraq, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Germany and Australia.

"It was a normal thing to do. What is not normal is the spinning, misleading media reports which followed my visit to the U.S."

He said his party funded his American tour and insisted his hosts did not pay for any of his activities.

"It's better to have lots of friends than enemies," said Amien, who has a doctorate from the University of Chicago. "When you get a lot of friends all over the world, you will have greater room to develop your insights. No need to build tension with other countries.

"It is all as simple as that. In this global and liberal era, it will be good for us to set open communication with all foreign parties for the sake of our national interests."

Intervention

Amien said the criticism of his trip and allegations he was compromising the country smacked of ploys to discredit him during the New Order regime.

"If people accuse me of selling the country... well, that's what (former president) Soeharto said."

The former chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization, cited news reports declaring his purported wish for U.S. intervention in troubled regions of the country.

"That's untrue. I've never asked for any form of foreign intervention in this country. Not in Ambon or Aceh," he said.

"I think I'm still healthy and sane enough (not to do that). I do not want any single millimeter of this country to be invaded by foreigners' feet."

He said he suggested the U.S use its clout to give "a moral choice to the Indonesian government", such as sanctions if the government failed to stop the clashes in parts of the country.

Amien understood the controversy surrounding his recommendations. "My political steps might be too fast to be accepted and comprehended by the people here."

Asked whether he feared the controversy would ruin his political image, he replied: "Let me tell you this, actually foreign intervention has been going on in this country all along.

"When Soeharto signed an agreement with the IMF before Michel Camdessus with his arms folded... he (Soeharto) sold the economic sovereignty of this country. But nobody spoke up. I did that, and look what happened to me.

"Now I have tried to make a moral force through the U.S. Why? Because it is the only superpower that is being heard and respected here in Jakarta. I wouldn't ask support from a small country because I would only become the laughing stock," Amien added, eliciting laughter from the audience. (edt)