Indonesia needs no foreign military intervention, Hoon says

Indonesia needs no foreign military intervention, Hoon says

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The defense ministers of Britain and
Malaysia pledged moral support to help Indonesia through current
crises of political turmoil and ethnic violence, but ruled out
the need for foreign military intervention.

British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon said that his
government was closely monitoring events in Indonesia, the
world's fourth-most populous nation, which has become one of the
most alarming flashpoints menacing stability in Southeast Asia.

"The position of Indonesia is a matter of concern to this
region and to the international community," Hoon said. "We want
to see Indonesia develop as a stable center in this region."

Hoon's comments centered on violence over the past two weeks
in Indonesia's strife-torn province of Central Kalimantan on
Borneo Island, where ethnic riots have killed more than 300
people and left tens of thousands bereft of food and medicine and
waiting to flee.

Officials have so far resisted demands to declare a state of
emergency -- one step from martial law. But the violence has
underscores Indonesia's growing inability to rein in ethnic and
separatist violence in several regions of the sprawling
archipelago of 13,000 islands.

Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesia's second president since long-
time dictator Suharto was ousted amid economic crisis in 1998,
has been sharply criticized for not cutting short a 15-day trip
to the Middle East and Africa to handle the turmoil.

On Thursday, Hoon said the international community had
"responded well" by sending an Australian-led troop force to East
Timor in 1999 to quell violence by pro-Jakarta militias following
the territory's vote for independence. But he stressed that
Indonesia's present problems could not be solved in the same
manner.

"I don't believe the situation in Indonesia now has reached
that situation," said Hoon, who is in Malaysia for a two-day
visit on the invitation of his local counterpart, Najib Tun
Razak.

At a news conference, Najib refused to speculate on the future
of Malaysia's neighbor or whether his government is prepared to
face waves of illegal immigration from Indonesia.

"We have to be as supportive as possible to ensure that there
is stability in Indonesia," he said.

Malaysian troops have been on standby to rescue a handful of
Malaysian citizens in Kalimantan if necessary, but officials have
said that so far they have confidence in the Indonesian military
to protect them.

Earlier this week, Najib said that Indonesia risks
"Balkanization" into warring, splintered territories. Malaysia
and Indonesia share a similar language and religious traditions,
but the smaller nation is significantly better off financially.

In another development, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer on Thursday defended Australia's frequent pledges of
support for Indonesia's existing borders, saying Canberra's
backing strengthened the troubled nation.

The policy is sometimes attacked within Australia by
supporters of secessionist groups in Indonesia.

Downer and Prime Minister John Howard have repeatedly
reassured Indonesia its existing borders have international
backing despite breakaway movements in regions like West Papua,
also known as Irian Jaya, and Aceh.

"If the nations of this immediate part of the world decided to
support secessionist movements in, say, Irian Jaya or in Aceh --
wherever it may be -- we would very significantly exacerbate
tensions in those places," Downer told the National Press Club.