Habibie to meet Estrada in Batam
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie has dropped his planned working visit to Malaysia this month and will instead meet with Philippine President Joseph Estrada next week in Batam, Riau.
The change in plan has been because the President is currently unable to leave the country, a minister hinted on Thursday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said the President could not go to Malaysia because Indonesia currently has no vice president, not because of her near neighbor's domestic situation.
"The visit to Batam is a domestic visit and will only last one day, just like a trip to Surabaya and Medan. A trip to Kuala Lumpur would be an official visit," Alatas said with a smile after joining Habibie for a meeting with British State Minister of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs John Fatchett at the Merdeka Palace.
When a journalist asked why Alatas had smiled, he replied: "I know you just want to provoke me because you know the (real) answer".
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung announced last week that Habibie had decided to drop his planned visit to Malaysia due to his tight schedule at home.
In an interview last week with The Nation, a Thai daily newspaper, Habibie said he was saddened by the arrest and beating of his friend Anwar Ibrahim, the sacked Malaysian minister of finance.
Habibie indicated that he might also be absent from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Kuala Lumpur next month. Estrada has expressed similar feelings.
Alatas said that Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong would not attend the meeting, despite Batam's proximity to the island state.
Estrada will go on from Batam to Singapore to address the World Economic Forum. AP previously reported that the meeting between Habibie and Estrada would take place in Singapore.
"It will be the first opportunity for the two presidents to have a discussion," Alatas remarked.
Habibie had earlier complained over Singapore's cool response to his appointment to the presidency, citing a late congratulatory note from the island's leadership as the reason for his ire.
Meanwhile, Fatchett said he has offered practical assistance to help Indonesia hold a free and fair election next year.
"I discussed today both with President Habibie and separately with the Independent Election Monitoring Committee what concrete help we might be able to provide," he said.
He said Britain had an extensive experience in helping to organize free and fair elections in other countries.
The practical assistance, he said, would include monitoring of election registration and voting, and training people involved in the election process in Indonesia.
In relation to the practical assistance, he said a human rights workshop would be held in Jakarta on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 which would bring together participants from all European Union countries and a wide range of Indonesian officials and institutions. (prb/bnt)