Indonesia ready to answer human rights questions
Indonesia ready to answer human rights questions
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is prepared to answer questions about
human rights observation if they are raised during the visit here
by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas told reporters he
believed the issue would not be raised at the APEC forum but more
likely during the bilateral meeting Clinton will have with
President Soeharto.
Clinton, who is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Sunday
night, has received a petition from the U.S. Congress to raise
the human rights issue during his visit to Indonesia.
The U.S. president will attend the APEC leaders meeting in
Bogor on Tuesday and will stay on in Indonesia for two more days
for an official state visit.
"We've heard of the appeals (from the congressmen)," Alatas
said when asked about the likelihood that Clinton would raise the
human rights issue during his stay in Indonesia. "However, I
think it is very clear that during the APEC meetings such things
will not be raised."
"Whether this will be raised or not at bilateral meetings is
something we shall have to wait and see, but that is all right,
because at all bilateral meetings if our friends want to talk
about this, Indonesia is always prepared to discuss these
issues."
He added that Indonesia will be prepared to explain its
position on human rights.
The issue has been a thorn in bilateral relations between the
two countries. Washington has frozen its military training aid
program for Indonesia and at one stage blocked Jakarta's plan to
buy U.S. built fighters from Jordan.
U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor met with
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono yesterday to review bilateral
relations between the two countries and the upcoming state visit
by Clinton.
After the meeting Moerdiono told journalists they had agreed
on the need for both countries to clear out all obstacles for
greater bilateral trade relations.
Responding to a question, Moerdiono said the recent conviction
of an Indonesian labor activist was not raised during the meeting
with Kantor.
A number of congressional members have urged Washington to
link trade and economic ties with the issues of human rights and
workers rights in Indonesia. (pwn/emb)