Gus Dur says trip to Cambodia a visit to ancestral homeland

Gus Dur says trip to Cambodia a visit to ancestral homeland

By Kornelius Purba

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid arrived
here on Monday afternoon for a devotional visit to his ancestral
homeland.

"I feel I have just come home because my ancestors came from
Champa," the President told Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk and
Prime Minister Hun Sen who greeted him at the Pochentong
International Airport.

The President said the King Princess of Champa married his
ancestor King Brawijaya V, and that he had visited the princess'
tomb last month.

Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, arrived here from
Vientiane, Laos, where he made a six-hour official visit. He met
with President Khamtay Siphandone and Prime Minister Sisavat
Keobounpanh, soon after his arrival from Bangkok.

During their bilateral talks, Abdurrahman, Sihanouk and Hun
Sen discussed situations in their respective countries, including
their experiences of carrying out national reconciliation
processes. Sihanouk expressed his happiness at the election of
Megawati Soekarnoputri as vice president because he had enjoyed a
close relationship with her father Sukarno.

"Ibu Megawati asked me to convey her best regards to the
King," said Abdurrahman.

The two-day visit to Cambodia is a part of his four-day tour,
which started on Saturday, to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines to
introduce himself as Indonesia's new head of state, and assure
leaders of members of the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN)
that Indonesia would not become a hegemonic power in the region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab joined the President's
entourage. The President complained that his foreign minister was
always worried about him when he was involved in discussions with
his hosts.

"He worries that I will fall asleep every time I have a
lengthy meeting with my counterpart. Actually it is him who has
such a problem," said Gus Dur, whose habit of falling asleep
during conversations with guests is well-known among journalists
and close friends.

In a media briefing after his talks with Laotian President
Siphandone, the President said he respected the Laotian people's
choice of their own political system, and Indonesia wanted to
grow and progress together with the other nine ASEAN members.

Echoing what he said to Myanmar's leader Lt. Gen. Than Shwe on
Sunday, Abdurrahman also told Siphandone that market-oriented
economic policies would be the best way for the region to
develop.

In an apparent reaction to the current sweeping political
changes in Indonesia, Siphandone pointed out that his country
would stick to its political principles and would only be more
open in adopting market-oriented economic policies.

On Tuesday morning the President will leave Phnom Penh for
Hanoi, Vietnam and will stay there for about five hours, where he
will meet with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong and Prime
Minister Phan Van Khai.

From Hanoi he will fly to Manila to meet the Philippine
President Joseph Estrada.

According to Alwi, the President will return to Jakarta on
Tuesday evening and delay his medical visit to the United States
for a few days because President Bill Clinton is unable to
receive him.

Abdurrahman is scheduled to leave for Salt Lake City, Utah, on
Thursday to get special glasses to enable him to see normally
again.

"On the way home from the U.S. the President will make a brief
visit to Tokyo," said Alwi.