Boyce dismisses report of U.S. military plan in RI

Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. "Skip" Boyce dismissed on Thursday American press reports which said that Indonesia could become the next target of the U.S. military campaign against international terrorism after Afghanistan.

"If there was a compelling reason for the United States to take action in Indonesia, we would first consult with the government of Indonesia," Boyce told a luncheon organized by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club at the Mandarin Oriental.

"Unilateral action is not the way to go," he said in his first public appearance since he began his post in Jakarta last month.

He was responding to recent press reports out of Washington suggesting that the United States might expand its military campaign beyond Afghanistan.

Quoting sources in the Pentagon, the reports listed Indonesia with Iraq, Sudan and the Philippines as possible targets in the campaign to hunt down Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, which Washington blamed for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Responding to a question, Boyce declined to publicly speculate whether the al Qaeda had already made inroads into Indonesia.

But he pointed out that the United States, until two months ago, had been a fertile breeding ground for terrorist groups, and he alluded to similarities between his country and Indonesia in terms of geographical size and the relative openness towards foreign visitors.

"I cannot answer your question, but it would be a fallacy to assume that Indonesia is exempted," he added.

The Indonesian government, in compliance with a UN Security Council resolution, has ordered the central bank to freeze the assets of organizations suspected to have links with the al Qaeda group. So far, however, no firm action had been taken against any accounts.

Boyce said he believed that the government of Indonesia "remained in sync" with the U.S.-led coalition in fighting terrorism, even if Jakarta had demanded that Washington stop its military campaign in Afghanistan.

"We don't agree on every thing, like the bombing, but we can agree to disagree between friends," he said.

Asked on his assessment of the situation in Indonesia, in view of the U.S. government warning to Americans not to visit Indonesia, he said the embassy would make further evaluations in the first days of the Ramadhan fasting month.

The reference to Ramadhan came because of warnings from senior Indonesian officials about the repercussions in Indonesia if the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan continued during the Muslim holy month, which gets underway on Saturday.

Boyce said one of his immediate priorities in his new job would be to explain to the Indonesian public about the U.S. campaign against international terrorism.

He invoked what he called "public diplomacy" of getting access to the average person in Indonesia.

"This is a high priority for me, second only to looking after American citizens," he said.

The ambassador earlier on Thursday met with representatives of 19 Islamic groups, including several who had been vocal, if not intimidating, in their criticisms of U.S. policy in Afghanistan.

Boyce welcomed Indonesia's offer to join a United Nations peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, but ruled out any U.S. funding for the Indonesian military, citing an existing congressional ban, dating back to the East Timor problems in 1999.

When asked if he would follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Robert S. Gelbard, in speaking out or in being blunt in his criticisms of his host government, Boyce quipped: "I'm not going to speak out bluntly about my predecessor."