JP/1/SBY
Susilo meets American widow to help revive U.S. military ties
Reiner Simanjuntak The Jakarta Post/Washington
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met here on Wednesday with Patsy Spiers, the wife of Rick Spiers, one of two American citizens killed in an armed attack in Papua in 2002, in what is seen as a crucial meeting to help revive full military ties between Indonesia and the U.S.
"I'm happy," Spiers told journalists, when asked to comment on her talks with Susilo, who arrived here late on Tuesday for a four-day visit. She did not elaborate.
The meeting came after 53 human rights, religious and peace groups urged U.S. President George W. Bush to withhold U.S. military cooperation with Indonesia until the Southeast Asian country brings to justice military officers accused of abusing and killing civilians.
Presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said the shooting incident in Timika, Papua, on Aug. 12, 2002, which also killed one Indonesian teacher and injured nine others, had been a stumbling block to relations between the two countries as well as to restoration of full military ties. The U.S. slapped a military embargo on Indonesia following the killing of East Timor pro-independence protesters by the military in 1991.
"With this meeting, the President reaffirms the government's commitment to resolving the Timika incident, and (this shooting incident) should not hamper relations between Indonesia and the U.S.," Dino said after the meeting, held at the Willard Hotel, where Susilo and his entourage are staying.
"The meeting was very constructive ... and also emotional."
Dino explained that during the 30-minute meeting, Susilo briefed Spiers about the ongoing efforts to capture Papuan rebel leader Anthonius Wamang and his followers, who according to a joint investigation by the Indonesian authorities and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were responsible for the shooting incident. The group is believed to be hiding in the vast jungles of Papua.
"There has been a commitment to boost the efforts, and that one day they will all be captured and brought to court," he said.
Convincing Spiers about the government's strong commitment to resolving the incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice is crucial as it might help change the opinion of some U.S. Congressmen, who have opposed plans to end the U.S. military embargo on Indonesia until Jakarta shows significant progress in resolving certain issues, including the Timika incident and past human rights violations involving the Indonesian Military.
In February, the U.S. resumed a training program for Indonesian military officers after the U.S. Secretary of State declared that the Indonesian authorities had cooperated with the FBI in investigating the Timika incident.
Susilo is making his first visit to the U.S. since his election as president in October 2004. The trip is expected to further boost relations between the two countries in the economic, political, security and military fields.
Some analysts say that the U.S. administration has been happy thus far with Susilo's government, and is expected to support his domestic policies including those designed to boost economic growth to help provide jobs for some 40 million unemployed people, and to curb endemic corruption.
During the visit, Susilo is scheduled to hold talks with President Bush at the White House and also meet with other top administration officials, including Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and Finance Secretary John Snow.
The Susilo-Bush summit is slated to take place at around 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday or 3 a.m. on Thursday Jakarta time.
President Susilo will also meet with a number of top officials of U.S. companies, including Caterpillar Inc., Altria Corp., the parent company of Philip Morris which recently acquired PT HM Sampoerna, Indonesia's second largest cigarette maker, Merrill Lynch, and Paiton Energy.
On Friday, the President will fly to Seattle to meet Microsoft founder Bill Gates.