Clinton warms up to Gus Dur

By Kornelius Purba

WASHINGTON, D.C. (JP): President Bill Clinton said on Friday the United States would support the new Indonesian government's efforts in building democracy, including its struggle to maintain territorial integrity amid growing regional discontent.

Clinton met with President Abdurrahman Wahid during the latter's stopover in the U.S. capital on his way to Salt Lake City, Utah, for medical treatment.

He described Abdurrahman, who is better known as Gus Dur, as "the leader of the world's third largest democracy".

"The American people know that a strong and stable and prosperous and democratic Indonesia is very much in our interests. That is the sort of partnership we're interested in, and I hope I can be helpful in that regard," he said during a media photo session ahead of their meeting at the White House.

Responding to a question about calls for self-determination ballots in some parts of Indonesia, Clinton said: "We support the territorial integrity of Indonesia. We have to acknowledge that it's quite a challenging task to preserve a democracy so widespread and so diverse.

"I hope we can be somewhat helpful in the President's dealing with this challenge."

Spokesman for the National Security Council Mike Hammer said that Clinton "told Wahid the U.S. was a friend of Indonesia and would work with him to achieve his goals of consolidating democracy and economic revival".

Clinton left dangling the question of an immediate resumption of military cooperation with Indonesia, saying only that the matter would be discussed at the meeting.

His press secretary Joe Lockhart said Washington would like to resume providing military assistance, but the pace and scope "will depend on the progress of military reform, accountability as well as continued cooperation with the United Nations in the context of both East Timor and West Timor".

Clinton severed all military assistance and sales of military equipment to Indonesia in September to press Jakarta to allow the United Nations to send a peacekeeping force to East Timor. Then president B.J. Habibie acceded to the international demand.

Two bills currently before Congress seek to formalize the termination of all military cooperation with Indonesia to ensure Jakarta's continued cooperation concerning East Timor.

Clinton noted there remained problems in East Timor after Indonesia's decision to relinquish all territorial claims in the former Portuguese colony.

Abdurrahman said he planned to meet East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao in Jakarta soon "to ease a little bit of the situation in that area".

"Thank you very much. That's very good news," Clinton quickly responded.

Aides attending the 45-minute meeting in the Oval Office were U.S. State Secretary Madeleine Albright, Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summer and National Security adviser Sandy Berger, along with Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab and Jakarta's envoy in Washington Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti.

Abdurrahman, who has prioritized relations with Asia in his foreign policy, assured Clinton the shift would not come at the expense of relations with the U.S.

"I came from Indonesia just to make sure that we are still great friends of the United Sates, that we are still in good touch with you. I think in the future we will meet you more than before," said Abdurrahman, who became the country's first democratically elected president on Oct. 20.

He was pressed by White House reporters to explain his earlier statement that he would pardon former president Soeharto if the latter was convicted of alleged corruption.

"He was our president, so we have to be careful about this for the future generations. Mr. Soeharto still has big followers. So we have to be careful not to topple the cart."

Asked to comment, Clinton said it was an Indonesian internal matter.

"It's a decision that the President has to make, and we ought to support anything that he's trying to do to build democracy and to take Indonesia into the future," he said.

Abdurrahman, a Muslim scholar, praised Clinton for supporting interfaith dialogs that have taken place in Indonesia.

He disclosed a plan to host a dialog in Jakarta in January which was initiated by Americans from Philadelphia.

"We will invite, of course, the chief rabbi of Israel as well as the former chief rabbi. And from here (United States), from the Catholic side and so forth," he said.

About 50 people "from the three Abrahamic traditions" would take part in the dialog, he added.

The Indonesian leader has been widely criticized at home for his plan to begin commercial ties with Israel as one of his first major foreign policy initiatives.

Abdurrahman, who served with the Simon Peres Institute in Jerusalem in promoting peace, has argued that besides attracting investment from Jewish-controlled multinational corporations, the establishment of trade ties would give Indonesia channels to lobby the Israelis concerning the Middle East peace process.

Earlier on Friday, Abdurrahman received International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer and World Bank President James Wolfensohn at the Watergate Hotel, where he stayed during his two-day visit here.

Fischer said disbursement of the IMF's loans could not be resumed soon because a new letter of intent from the Indonesian government was unlikely to be ready before December.

Wolfensohn said the World Bank would extend up to US$600 million as a settlement loan to Indonesia, with much more to come in the next two years.

"We are looking, in the next couple of years, at between $2.5 billion that will be provided for Indonesia."

On a Garuda Indonesia flight to Salt Lake City later, Abdurrahman told Indonesian reporters that Clinton promised to support Indonesia's economic development. The form of support would be developed by their ministers, he said.

On Friday evening, the President dined with Utah Governor Michael Leavitt in Salt Lake City. He is also expected to meet with Mormon Church leaders over the weekend, local sources said.

University of Utah Hospital spokesman John Dwan told Reuters that Abdurrahman was "tentatively scheduled to be treated sometime this weekend" at the Moran Eye Center, a specialized facility at the hospital. He gave no details of what the treatment, although Wahid has impaired vision.

The Indonesian leader stayed at a ski resort near Deer Valley east of Salt Lake City. He is due to leave the United States for Japan on Sunday, returning to Jakarta on Tuesday.