Clinton and the rights issue

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