Gus Dur judges his trip to U.S. a success

Gus Dur judges his trip to U.S. a success

JAKARTA (JP): Brushing off international condemnation of
Indonesia's role in the deaths of three UN workers in West Timor,
President Abdurrahman Wahid boasted on Sunday his visit to the
United States was a diplomatic success.

Speaking at length with Indonesian journalists onboard the
Garuda Airbus 330 taking him back to Jakarta, Abdurrahman had
only positive things to say about his meetings with world leaders
and top officials during his five-day stay there.

Abdurrahman claimed to have convinced the U.S. administration
to finance the resettlement of East Timorese refugees and to
soften the UN Security Council's stance on Indonesia.

As a result of his meetings with U.S. President Bill Clinton,
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Senator Tom Harkins
Abdurrahman said Indonesia has been asked to send the U.S. a list
of resources needed to settle the refugee problem in West Timor.

"There has been a request from the U.S. side that we soon send
a budget list. I have handed the task over to Minister of Home
Affairs Soerjadi Soedirdja," Abdurrahman said.

In his meeting with Albright on Tuesday, the President said he
had wasted no words telling her to provide concrete assistance in
resolving the refugee problem, rather than only complaining about
Indonesia's shortcomings.

Abdurrahman also said that under his instructions, Indonesian
foreign minister Alwi Shihab had persuaded the UN Security
Council to soften its resolution on Indonesia by dropping a plan
to send international troops to West Timor.

"Pak Alwi succeeded in getting one point dropped in the
resolution about sending international troops to West Timor,"
Abdurrahman said.

The President arrived in New York on Monday to attend the UN
Millennium Summit. He stayed there til Friday before departing to
Baltimore, Maryland, for a medical checkup.

On Tuesday he met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard,
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, Albright, newly
elected Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president Jakob Kellenberger
and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

On the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday he also met with
Clinton, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime
Minister Ekud Barak.

Of his meeting with Clinton, Abdurrahman said he got the
impression that Clinton had no objections to his planned visit to
meet with Iraqi's President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad next month.

"We must stop the suffering of the Iraqis. They have suffered
for one generation," the President said.

Abdurrahman said he would also specifically ask Saddam to
release about 600 Kuwaiti prisoners of war still being held in
Iraq.

"For us, 600 people is nothing, but for Kuwait which has a
small population, that number is quite big," he noted.

On his meeting with Barak and Arafat, Abdurrahman said he had
reiterated his government's commitment to support peace
negotiations between the two nations.

"To Barak and Arafat I said that we were behind the position
of the people of Palestine and Israel. Whether they reach peace
in a short time or not, we will remain behind them," he said
without elaborating.

The President also met with leaders of the Jewish community in
New York, and his private advisor Henry Kissinger, who briefed
him about the latest global situation.

Abdurrahman said he was very proud that he received a standing
ovation from the audience after conveying his five-and-a-half
minute speech at the summit -- 30 seconds longer than the
official time provided for each speaker.

"I am much more efficient than Fidel Castro," said the
President in jest, referring to the Cuban leader's well-known
habit of making lengthy public speeches.

Without going into specifics, Abdurrahman bragged that
Indonesia had been entrusted to handle 11 international
conflicts.

"Of course I will not disclose the details to you because this
is a government secret," said the President.

Aside from diplomacy, the President also said he was satisfied
with his medical checkup at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on
Friday night.

With a big smile, Abdurrahman said doctors advised him to
sleep at least six hours a night and had provided him with
special face mask.

"So don't be surprised if you see me at night looking like an
alien from other planet," he said laughing.

The President and his entourage arrived in Jakarta on Monday
-- one day earlier than the original schedule. (prb)