President to discuss truth body with Mbeki

President to discuss truth body with Mbeki

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid plans to discuss the
establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission with his
South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki during a visit to the
country this weekend, an official said on Friday.

Head of State Protocol Rahmat Ranudiwijaya told a briefing on
the eve of Abdurrahman's four-nation tour that the President
would meet with Mbeki in the South African administrative capital
of Pretoria on Sunday morning.

Abdurrahman brought up the idea of the commission early last
year and said at that time that it would be modeled on the
inquiry into the atrocities committed during the apartheid regime
in South Africa.

Rahmat said Abdurrahman was scheduled to depart on Saturday
afternoon from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta.

The overseas trip will also take Abdurrahman to Mexico, Cuba
and Hong Kong.

"The President is scheduled to attend the first Group of 77
Summit in Havana, Cuba, from April 11 through April 14 and is
expected to return to Jakarta on April 17," Rahmat said.

The President will also meet with the Cuban President Fidel
Castro, he added.

The G-77, which was founded in 1964 and now boasts 133-member
countries, seeks to promote development and economic cooperation
between southern hemisphere countries.

On his journey home from Hong Kong, Abdurrahman will make a
stopover in Tokyo to visit ailing former Japanese prime minister
Keizo Obuchi and meet with his successor Yoshiro Mori, Rahmat
said. (byg)