Clinton assures Indonesia of full U.S. support
By Yenni Djahidin
WASHINGTON D.C. (JP): U.S. President Bill Clinton has expressed full support for Indonesia's efforts to resolve its economic crisis, Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said Monday.
The assurance was given when Dorodjatun presented his letter of credence at the White House.
Clinton underscored his good relationship with President Soeharto, Dorodjatun told reporters at the embassy afterward.
Clinton did not raise the question of economic reform, which his government insisted Indonesia pursue in return for the loans arranged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he added.
Dorodjatun, who was dean of the School of Economics at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta before his ambassadorial appointment, said he believed negotiations between Indonesia and the IMF on the future of the loans would be fruitful.
He appealed to the IMF to give time to the Indonesian government to see the reforms through. "We need at least one year to see their results," he said.
State Department spokesman James Rubin said Tuesday that Washington hoped the new Indonesian government would implement the reforms quickly, Reuters reported.
Rubin refrained from commenting on the new cabinet lineup, saying it was "an internal matter for the Indonesian government".
"What we are concerned about is that they do what they can reasonably do to implement as quickly as they reasonably can the IMF reform programs so they can get back on their economic feet.
"What we're focused on is less the people than the policies that we think are necessary for them to be able to ... meet the IMF program that has been set forward," he said.
Washington came under renewed criticism Tuesday from Congress on its ties with Indonesia, this time over joint military training the U.S. Pacific Command carried out with Indonesia.
Rubin defended the program.
"The training is legal and, in our view, in conformance with the expressed intent of Congress. That is because Congress specifically banned IMET (International Military Education and Training) training and this is not IMET training," he said.
These joint exercises, which are carried out under a separate program "enhance American military readiness and increase U.S. engagement with an important country," he said.
Legal
White House spokesman Michael McCurry said the program "is not a loophole", but an exchange program that is perfectly legal.
"The benefits flow to the United States for that kind of training," he said. "It is not a program that is designed to aid or to materially affect the military capability of the country that we're training with," McCurry was quoted by AFP as saying.
Congress cut Indonesia out of the IMET program in 1992 in reaction to the Indonesian military's handling of an incident in East Timor. In May last year, Jakarta rejected Washington's offer to revive the program, citing that Congressional pressure was bordering on intervening in domestic affairs.
Rubin said the administration had not misled Congress on the training and stressed that the exercises were "purely military in nature and are unrelated to crowd control".
The Pentagon released documents acknowledging it trained Indonesian military units, including the elite Kopassus force, from 1992 to 1997, in techniques such as urban and psychological warfare, reconnaissance and marksmanship.
Lawmakers and human rights activists have denounced what they say was use of a "loophole" in a 1992 ban on direct military aid to Jakarta.
Members of Congress said the program violated the spirit of the 1992 law aimed at limiting military assistance to Indonesia and human rights education.
"This is a very cynical action on the part of the Department of Defense," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi at a news conference called by human rights activists Tuesday.
Rep. Lane Evans said he was "deeply troubled" by the program, describing it as a "loophole" in the congressional ban and "another way the Pentagon can assist Soeharto and his soldiers in suppressing their opposition".