Susilo meets widow to help revive U.S. ties

Susilo meets widow to help revive U.S. 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.,
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.