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)