Clinton gives strong support to Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): U.S. Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard met with President Abdurrahman Wahid on Saturday at Bina Graha presidential office to convey a message of support for his leadership from President Bill Clinton.

Clinton's message followed an earlier statement made on Friday by a U.S. senior diplomat who warned Indonesian generals not to attempt to thwart the reform process under Abdurrahman's leadership.

In another token of U.S. support of the Abddurrahman administration, Clinton has decided to send to Jakarta next week Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Stanley Roth.

"Clinton has expressed wholehearted support for Gus Dur's leadership," a government official said on Saturday, referring to the President by his nickname.

According to the official, Clinton also urged Abdurrahman not to bow to pressure from several Indonesian Military (TNI) generals accused of human rights abuses in East Timor after the self-determination ballot in the territory in August.

Palace officials, however, politely turned away journalists who wanted to cover Gelbard's meeting with the President, saying it was a private meeting.

"This is at the request of the President himself," said a media liaison officer.

Abdurrahman met with Clinton at the White House in November where the latter promised to support the new Indonesian government's efforts in building democracy, including its struggle to maintain territorial integrity amid growing regional discontent.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, in the November meeting Clinton pledged to send an advisory team to assist Indonesia in dealing with rising separatist sentiments.

It is still not clear when the team will come to Jakarta.

"The team will merely act as an advisor, because it has vast in experience in helping other countries face similar problems," Alwi said at the time.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke in a telephone interview from New York with journalists in Jakarta on Friday night strongly warned the Indonesian Military not to try to foil the works of the government-sanctioned Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations (KPP HAM) in East Timor.

Holbrooke also warned that the U.S. would firmly oppose any military coup attempts against the new government. "Any officers thinking of military adventurism have forgotten that we are now in the 21st century," he said.

"I want to say clearly that the U.S. government at every level, from the president, the secretary of state and myself all stand firmly to the fact that the military is risking doing massive damage to Indonesia by continuing to attempt to thwart the efforts of President Wahid, Attorney General Marzuki and other leaders," the senior diplomat warned.

An American diplomat disclosed on Friday that Summers would meet with Abdurrahman on Thursday, the same day the President unveils his 2000 draft budget to the House of Representatives.

Summers' visit will be followed by Stanley Roth who will arrive in Jakarta from Japan also next week.

On the same day, Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie is expected to sign a letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Meanwhile, Summers said in Washington on Friday that Indonesia had the potential to share in Asia's strong recovery from the 1997 to 1999 financial crisis.

Summers, speaking to reporters ahead of a week-long trip to Indonesia and other Asian countries, said Indonesia was at "a particularly critical juncture".

"There's now been substantial repair from the depths of the Asian financial crisis, but Indonesia has not yet fully shared in that recovery," Summers said.

"With a relatively new government in place, this is a major moment of opportunity for Indonesia. But very large issues of corruption and of governance remain and will need to be managed going forward," Reuters quoted him as saying. (prb)