U.S. parties see human rights as important issue

JAKARTA (JP): Observers of American politics said yesterday that whether a Republican or a Democrat is elected to the White House in November, human rights will continue to feature in relations between Jakarta and Washington.

"Whoever is in power, they will still be bearing down on us on human rights issues," said former Indonesia ambassador to Washington Hasnan Habib.

According to Hasnan, such issues are ingrained in the values of the American people and thus it would be doubtful if an American executive did not concern himself with the topic.

"Even during the Republican era of (former president Ronald) Reagan it was the same," he remarked.

The United States presidential election is coming up in November with incumbent President Bill Clinton from the Democratic party running for a second term against Republican candidate Bob Dole.

Speaking at a seminar on U.S. Domestic Politics and Its Impact on Foreign Policy, American academic David Newsom said even if a new administration came to power there would only be subtle changes in foreign policy.

"There isn't much room to maneuver," he said in the seminar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

When asked about the issue of human rights and the importance attached to it by the two parties in foreign policy, Newsom said such issues are "very deep in the American political body".

"Whatever party gets in, this issue will not go away," said Newsom, who is interim dean at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University, Washington.

A member of the National Human Rights Commission, Marzuki Darusman, questioned the widely held perception that Republicans tend meddle less in domestic affairs of other countries than Democrats.

Newsom said that while Republicans generally favored less involvement in the domestic affairs of friendly governments in the past, they believe there is justification to intervene in the affairs of non-friendly governments, such as communist states.

Nevertheless he maintained that America has deep attachments to human rights and democratization.

Furthermore, since the 1970s legislation has been introduced which require a government to concern itself with such issues.

Among this legislation is the requirement for the State Department to issue annual human rights reports on various countries.

When asked which party would be best for ties with Jakarta, Newsom diplomatically responded by saying that "Indonesia-U.S. relations have prospered through both Republicans and Democrats."

Hasnan Habib separately said that he personally prefers the Clinton administration. He added that Clinton has shifted U.S. policy from attention to Europe to attention to the Asia-Pacific.

"Clinton is our partner in APEC," he said.

Hasnan said that Dole is a unilateralist with little interest in working within the United Nations and is dubious in his priority towards APEC. (mds)