Boyce, Gozney brig their case on Iraq to RI legislators

Kurniawan Hari and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United States and Britain brought their case to Indonesian legislators on Friday, trying to convince the lawmakers that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had failed to comply with United Nations Resolution 1441 and thus had to be disarmed forcefully.

United States Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce and British Ambassador Richard Gozney, however, stressed that their visit to the House of Representatives was not aimed at securing the legislators' support to attack Iraq, but to share views on the Iraq issue.

"The government of President Megawati has made it very clear, both publicly and privately, to us that they oppose the use of force to resolve this crisis," Boyce told the media after meeting House Commission I for foreign policy and security affairs on Friday.

The United States and its closest ally, Britain, have accused Iraq of developing and storing weapons of mass destruction and are likely to launch a military strike against Iraq to topple Saddam from power.

Boyce said that everyone wanted to avoid war, including the United States and its allies. There were options available for Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq, the most obvious one of which was immediate compliance with UN Resolution 1441, he said.

Saddam has been warned to comply with the resolution and disarm voluntarily and prove to United Nations inspectors that Iraq has disarmed and destroyed weapons of mass destruction.

Boyce added that the option was still open, although the window was closing very quickly.

During the meeting, Indonesian legislators emphasized that they opposed the use of military force as a means to disarm Iraq.

"We understand this, we respect it, and we may have to respect that we disagree in coming days. If it comes to that, it is important that we understand each other's reasons. We may not agree with them, but as friends, it is important that the communication is always open," Boyce said.

"We respect Indonesia's stance. The most important thing is to ensure access of information exchange. We don't expect approval but understanding," Ambassador Gozney said.

Gozney said that 15 members of the European Union had urged Saddam to comply with the UN resolution.

Meanwhile, French Ambassador Herve Ladsous reaffirmed the common ground France and Indonesia shared on Iraq, describing their position as "exactly the same -- 100 percent".

"It is simply a matter of enabling the United Nations to do the job. It is not about war, it is not about the Iraqi regime, it is about weapons of mass destruction, and we have to help, we all have to help the United Nations to do the job," Ladsous said on Friday.

Speaking later to journalists at the U.S. Embassy, Ambassador Boyce said he would consider tightening security around American interests here if war in the Middle East was imminent.

"If it appears that we may be moving toward the use of force, then I guess we would obviously, would probably want to review all our measures," Boyce said, adding that security had already been tightened since the Oct. 12 Bali bombing last year.

He also expressed confidence in the Indonesian government's assurance of protecting foreigners and was satisfied with the current level of security provided. "We're in pretty good shape on that."

The U.S. Embassy sent home nonessential staff prior to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. After the Bali bombing, Washington issued a travel warning on Indonesia that is still in effect.