Clinton and the rights issue

Clinton, whose Democratic Party suffered heavy losses in the recent elections, appears to be more inclined to discuss economic and military issues with Indonesia, which is at present playing the diplomatic role of "spokesman" for the Third World. Clinton is disinclined to take up the human rights issue directly with President Soeharto because it represents too small an interest for the United States. It is enough that the issue is discussed by trade representative Mickey Kantor with an Indonesian partner in dialog, if necessary.

It seems natural under the circumstances that certain parties now say that Mickey Kantor will have to bear the embarrassment over the United States's tarnished credibility in Asia should the human rights issue be omitted altogether, even at the lowest level. For this reason we should be able to predict that the human rights issue will be discussed under Clinton's chosen scenario: not at the highest level between heads of state, and not in the context of APEC.

Washington is trapped in an awkward position. After the refusal of the Philippines and some other Asian countries to accommodate its military facilities, the U.S. feels that it no longer has a foothold in Asia and so it is applying a new pressure policy, using the human rights and democratization issues as a club. And it has failed.

Whatever the case, Washington will have to try to gain a deeper insight of the development process which societies outside the U.S. -- particularly in Asia -- are at present undergoing, and of their specific commitment towards democracy which differs from that of the United States.

-- Pikiran Rakyat, Bandung