Lord says Indonesians must shape their own destiny

JAKARTA (JP): U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord said in Washington that while the United States' influence was important it was the Indonesian people who must ultimately determine the fate of their nation.

"U.S. influence is important but limited. This said, we have positioned ourselves on the side of responsible change," said Lord before a Senate foreign relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs on Wednesday.

"While the U.S. can help encourage positive developments in Indonesia, it is the Indonesian people and government that will shape that nation's destiny," he told the senate subcommittee.

Despite having human rights and democratic principles ingrained in Indonesia's constitution, Lord believes that "many of these principles are not yet followed in practice."

He then reiterated President Clinton's stand which stresses that even though the bilateral relationship is strong, it "cannot reach its full potential until Indonesia improves its human rights performance".

Lord stated an elaborate list of concerns including the fact that "although elections are held, the Indonesian people continue to lack the ability to change their government."

He said the political intricacies and positioning in preparation for next year's general election may have been a factor in "the government's role in the removal of one opposition leader, Megawati Soekarnoputri".

He said that Jakarta's response to the recent unrest was to arrest activists from reform movements and people like labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan "who appear to have simply stated their views on the need for political change".

While claiming that Washington was unwavering in its support for human rights and democratization, Lord maintained that the road to pursue should be a persuasive one.

"We need to continue to demonstrate that we approach Indonesia as a friend. One who recognizes Indonesia's contribution and thus can speak frankly about areas where further progress will be necessary for our relationship to reach its full potential," he said.

He defended the intended sale of F-16 jet fighters to Indonesia: "The transfer (of F-16s) should also reinforce our ties with the Indonesian leadership and hence our ability to influence its thinking about political liberalization," he said.

He claimed that while limitations and self-censorship persisted, the Indonesian media "routinely carry stories that are often critical of the government or report foreign criticisms of the government's human rights performance."

While the United States elects to adopt a critical yet diplomatic and friendly approach to Indonesia, the European Parliament continued its tough stance toward Jakarta.

Reuters reported from Strasbourg, France, yesterday that the European Parliament urged the United Nations on Thursday to look into the government's crackdown on prodemocracy activists.

"The European Parliament requests that the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions be asked to undertake an investigation into the events of July 27 and the whereabouts of people still missing," a resolution of UN deputies was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The European Union has urged European Union member states to withhold all military assistance and arms sales to Indonesia, which it accuses of "violating the rights of peaceful critics and activists".

The non-binding resolution condemned the violent seizure of the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters on July 27 and the subsequent wave of arrests.

The European Parliament has reiterated its support for the Indonesian prodemocracy movement "in the struggle for a just, democratic and pluralist society". (mds)