Read more about RI-U.S. relations

Unfortunately the letter by Mr. Karl Fritz, Press Attache at the U.S. Embassy (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 18, 2000: Indonesia and the U.S.), in response to my article (the Post, Jan. 13 and Jan. 14: The U.S.: A party to mass murder) comes across as little more than a public relations exercise rather than any serious attempt to establish the truth. Rather than trying to rebut the numerous facts contained in my article, Mr. Fritz, rather suspiciously, has tried instead to cajole the reader with phrases such as "Sophisticated readers will quickly recognize (my article) as an inaccurate, distorted attempt to discredit the U.S." And more crudely he stops just short of labeling me a communist by stating that my writing is "curiously reminiscent of Cold War disinformation".

Mr. Karl Fritz has obviously not read much about Indonesian- American relations himself, for if he had he would know that, to the great credit of American society, there are a number of very eminent "American scholars" who hold very similar views to mine about the heinous activities of the C.I.A. The agency's crimes against humanity, not only in Indonesia but also in other parts of the world, are now quite well documented.

The only, perhaps, surprising fact is that no C.I.A. director has yet been indicted by an international court for those crimes. In my view such an indictment is essential if the complete truth is to be arrived at. I wonder whether Mr. Fritz and the American Embassy are quite as keen as I to reveal the truth through such a process.

While there is plenty of evidence to show that America has been far from a "reliable friend" to the people of Indonesia, there are increasingly more signs nowadays that it is more sincere in wanting to be such a friend. Provided the U.S. intends to match words with deeds then these recent statements by Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, are indeed encouraging: "Any (Indonesian) officers thinking of military adventurism have forgotten that we are now in the 21st century", and "I want to say clearly that the U.S. government at every level, from the President, the secretary of state and myself, all stand firmly to the fact that the military is risking doing massive damage to Indonesia by continuing to attempt to thwart the efforts of President Wahid, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman and other leaders".

However, the empowerment of the Indonesian people through the development of democracy is much more likely to succeed if the truth about the past is widely known. Only then will Indonesia have a more solid foundation for democracy to prosper, through a proper assessment of the role and influence of key players in events over the past four decades in particular. If the U.S. truly wishes to be a "reliable friend" then it must be seen to welcome public debate and the truth that will eventually lead to the greater empowerment of the Indonesian people to effect changes in their own lives.

FRANK RICHARDSON

Jakarta