Bush supports Aceh peace accord

Bush supports Aceh peace accord

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, New York

Whatever the results of the World Summit, what is more urgent
for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is what concrete results
he can bring home from his 10-day visit to the United States,
including a six-day stay in New York to attend the summit until
Saturday.

His biggest diplomatic gain was clearly the strong support
from United States President George W. Bush for the government's
peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Bush told him
that the U.S. administration fully backed the agreement and would
help Indonesia maintain peace in the war and tsunami-devastated
province.

He had a chance to talk with Bush during the 90-minute working
luncheon, which was hosted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on
Wednesday local time at the UN headquarters. He was seated next
to Bush at a table along with Annan, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Spanish King Juan Carlos, Jordan King Abdullah and Chilean
President Ricardo Lagos.

"President Bush welcomes the peace process in Aceh," said
presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal after accompanying
Susilo at a teleconference with Vice President Jusuf Kalla on
Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the morning, European Union Secretary-General
Javier Solana also expressed similar support for the Aceh deal
during a meeting with Susilo earlier in the morning. Solana did
not talk to the media because they met in a very small room and
the room would be used by another delegation soon after their
meeting.

"The EU is also a member of the Aceh Monitoring Mission," said
Dino.

World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz also met with Susilo at
the latter's hotel. The former U.S. deputy secretary of defense
emphasized that he came as and old friend of the President and
Indonesia. The bank has pledged commitment to the reconstruction
of Aceh, he said.

Susilo, however, must exercise patience in getting concrete
results from his meeting with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan
bin Abdul Aziz. Before meeting with the prince, he disclosed a
plan to ask for help from the oil-rich country to assist
Indonesia in coping with rising oil price, including by possibly
sending its crude oil to an Indonesian refinery for processing.

Dino only said the two leaders discussed the oil problem but
he did not mention the prince's response to Susilo's request.

While with Jordanian King Abdullah, the President apologized
for the cancellation of his visit to the Middle East. He
originally planned to visit several Middle East countries,
including Jordan, on the way home from New York to Jakarta.