U.S. cannot impose its values: Bush

JAKARTA (JP): Former U.S. president George Bush said here last night that the United States should not lecture other countries on human rights and the environment because every single country has its own culture and systems.

"We put forward requirements on environment and requirements on human rights. However, there are totally different cultures, different systems of believing in human rights, but in different ways they perceive," Bush said at a gala dinner hosted by Citibank last night.

Present at the gala dinner were, among others, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, State Minister of Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo and Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja.

Bush suggested that attempting to improve human rights and environmental conditions in any country by quiet diplomacy would bring better results rather than by "hitting them right in their faces".

When asked Bush declined to comment on Indonesia's human rights record, saying, "I'm not expert on the internal affairs of this country."

He then described human rights developments in China after the Tiananmen Square tragedy in 1989 and in Singapore after the canning of an American teenager for vandalism earlier this year as good results of U.S. diplomacy.

Bush, who was in Singapore when the canning took place, said Singapore now could open up a bit on the issue of human rights after the United States tried to intervene with its political muscle to change Singapore's view on human rights.

He also recognized that there are far more individual human rights in China today, as compared to the time before the Tiananmen tragedy.

"Pressing for changes, yes, it is needed. But you wouldn't reach the goals if you humiliated somebody you want to change," Bush said.

He also stressed security arrangements in the region involving the United States as the stabilizing power. He recognized that although the region seems to be stable, there are still some threats looming.

"Our enemy now is instability and unpredictability. Who knows, a Sadam Hussein could come up here in the region," Bush said. "I'm the one who does not trust North Korea. I want to see its real steps for opening its nuclear program."

Bush said he expected that there would be a military relationship between the United States and Indonesia to ensure peace in Southeast Asia.

APEC

Bush last night praised President Soeharto's leadership in the second informal conference of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Bogor, south of here, in the middle of this month. The gathering came up with an agreement on the gradual liberalization of trade and investment in the region by 2010 for developed members and by 2020 for developing members.

"I salute President Soeharto for having the vision to push that meeting," Bush said, adding that APEC's move would create the world's largest free trade area.

APEC groups 18 economies -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and the United States -- which together control 50 percent of the world's Gross National Products (GNP) and 60 percent of the global merchandise trade.

However, he warned that the agreement would be difficult to implement unless APEC leaders lay out blueprints. "There are still a lot of details needed to be clarified."

When queried about the possibility of the ratification of the new Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) by the U.S. Congress, Bush predicted that it would be passed, and "it must be passed".

He said if the United States failed to ratify it next week, the World Trade Organization, which was negotiated for seven years, would be in danger of collapsing.

On Wednesday, Senate Republican leader Robert Dole laid his support behind Democrat President Bill Clinton for the world trade pact.

Bush also assured that the North Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which involves the United States, Canada and Mexico, is not a trade bloc because it is still consistent with GATT principles. The GATT treaty allows any regional grouping as long as it does not raise new barriers for non-member countries.

"I hope everybody here to look at NAFTA not as a trade bloc ... but a trading partner," Bush said. (rid)