Outgoing U.S. Ambassador caught up in tale of two cities

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador caught up in tale of two cities

Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The departing U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, Ralph L. Boyce, used
the words of Charles Dickens, from his book A tale of Two Cities,
to describe the course of events that transformed Indonesia in
recent years.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... It was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair... we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us...", he quoted in
the opening address of his "farewell" speech, before a group of
editors and business executives, here on Thursday.

When the U.S. Senate confirmed his assignment to Indonesia,
just 15 days after the terrorist attack in New York in 2001,
Boyce knew that difficult times were ahead.

Indonesia was struggling, after being hit by political turmoil
and the subsequent economic crisis, while the fear of terror
attacks gripped the world.

But, when he leaves Jakarta next week -- after three years of
service in Indonesia -- he will also bring with him the memories
of having witnessed the rebirth of an authoritarian nation into a
democracy, and of his brief musical "career" as a drummer in The
Harmony, a celebrity-laden musical troop.

"There were a lot of problems, a lot of headaches, a lot of
crises, and so it was -- you know -- I had a little bit of a
different impression at the beginning of six years about
Indonesia.

"And, I tell people sometimes that, for three years in
Washington, I used to wake up in the morning, and get out of bed
and say, 'Well, I wonder what happened overnight in Indonesia?
It's gonna make my day a living nightmare.' And often there was
some terrible news."

Prior to his Indonesian assignment, Boyce, 52, had been deputy
assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific affairs since
August 1998. His areas of responsibility included Southeast Asia,
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Topping U.S. concern at that time was Indonesia's commitment
to fighting terrorism. "Really, we were going into a new age of
terrorism, which was very scary. And it was very unclear whether
Indonesia was gonna get it."

But the progress the country has made, including the peaceful
direct presidential election, opens up a spring of hope.

"I realized, maybe in the last year, year-and-a-half, that I
had stopped worrying about Indonesia ... I think the answer is
because Indonesia got everything going in the right direction.
It's kind of like turning an aircraft carrier around, you know,
it takes a long time to change direction.

"But, I have the feeling that this country, the people of this
country, even more than the elites, I think, have decided we're
going in the direction that involves more decentralization, more
democracy, the increased capability of our leaders, more
transparency. And we're gonna to do it now."

While he confessed to being greatly impressed by Indonesians'
hospitality and warm character -- and this country's cultural
creativity and artistic expression -- he also advised Indonesians
to go easy on themselves.

"As a friend of Indonesia, I think you are the harshest
critics of all, of yourselves. You are very impatient with this
whole reformasi; it's gonna take time, it's a long way to go.
But, you know what? From time to time, you should take a deep
breath, just reflect on how far you have come already."

He also encouraged Indonesia to reduce its dependence on aid,
while improving its welfare through bilateral trade and foreign
investment. To this end, he said that Indonesia had to practice
good governance by ensuring a corruption-free administration, the
presence of a legal framework, transparency and accountability.

"Perhaps, the greatest economic contribution to the Indonesian
economy is our open market. Trade is so much more important than
aid. Bilateral trade is about US$9 billion a year, and the
surplus is very large in your favor. And our market is one of the
engines that drives your growth."

He gave assurances that the U.S. would remain a strong
supporter of Indonesia's transition process in the post-Soeharto
era of 1998 and beyond. "I'm confident that this policy will not
change, no matter who wins our election next month."

Boyce is known here as an avid drummer. The Harmony Band, set
up in March this year, was an ad hoc music group comprising
ambassadors and Indonesian government officials. Its first
performance, that same month, was to raise funds for dengue
patients.

"We raised one billion rupiah. And we had so much fun that we
just kept playing," he recalled, to the delight of the audience
at the Jakarta Media Center on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta.

Boyce, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service,
will assume the ambassadorial post in Thailand, a country that he
has served several times -- as a political counselor in 1988, and
as deputy chief of mission, from Oct. 1994 to Aug. 1998.

Dickens wrote, "... we were all going direct to Heaven, we
were all going direct the other way". But, Ambassador Boyce is on
his way to a new assignment, to take the pulse of another nation.