U.S. pledges to continue helping Indonesian govt

By Yenni Djahidin

WASHINGTON (JP): The United States has promised to continue helping Indonesia to become a democratic, prosperous and united country.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by the U.S.-Indonesia Society, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Ralph Boyce said on Tuesday that President George W. Bush's administration was fully aware of the importance of Indonesia to the United States.

Recognizing that Indonesia's current transition to democracy would be a long process, he said the U.S. was committed to do what it could to help.

Indonesia, as the world's fourth largest country and with the largest Muslim population of any single nation, really mattered to the United States, he said. "The success or failure of Indonesia's democratic transition is going to have an effect on the future and democracy throughout that region and probably worldwide," he said.

The United States was helping Indonesia in several areas, including technical assistance for taxation, legal reforms, decentralization, economic restructuring and institution- building, such as helping with the police force.

Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY), chairman of the senate committee on foreign relations, East Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee, told the conference that he endorsed the idea for the two countries to reestablish military cooperation, sharing ideas and working together.

But he quickly rejected the idea of sending American troops to Indonesia for a peace-keeping mission.

Senator Thomas admitted that, like many Americans, he did not have a comprehensive understanding about Indonesia, but he stressed that the Bush Administration would have the same human rights values as the previous Clinton administration.

"Our interests, U.S. interests, have focused a great deal on countries that are seeking to be democratic and allowing freedom for their people," he said.

The differences between the two administrations may be in the ways these interests are articulated, he said. "But in terms of seeking to help the country transform, seeking to help a country that has gone down economically, I think our priorities will still be there," he added.

American business leaders at the conference expressed hope about Indonesia's future. Senior vice president of Freeport McMoran Russell King said he was optimistic that things would work out for the best in Indonesia.

Indonesia was going through a natural, though difficult, process to become more democratic, he said. "There will be trial and error in the learning process, but we are committed to the long-term in Indonesia," King said.

Freeport McMoran would work with the government selected by the Indonesian people, no matter who was chosen as leader, he said.

When asked about security concerns, such as the closure of Mobil-Exxon's oil and gas exploration and production in Aceh, King said Freeport was committed to staying in Irian Jaya, where it has a huge copper and gold mining operation.

Michael Gadbaw of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council said any investor looking at Indonesia had to be very cautious.

Companies committed to Indonesia continue to operate there, but were watching developments very closely, he said.

When asked about the impact of the suspension of Exxon operations in Aceh, Gadbaw said American investors were concerned about the impact of Exxon's decision.

Investors wanted to see how Indonesia was going to deal with this kind of regional and ethnic violence, he said.

The situation will be watched very closely to see what happens. And how it develops will obviously make a big impact on the perception of risk for future investors," he said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab called on the United States to re-establish military cooperation.

He said the suspension of U.S. military assistance to Indonesia had hampered the ability of the Indonesian military to help the National Police in emergency situations, such as in Kalimantan.

Shihab said that Secretary of State Colin Powell during a meeting on Monday reiterated Washington's support for Indonesia in resolving its national challenges in democratic, constitutional and peaceful ways.

The one-day seminar was held by the United States-Indonesia Society. Among those who attended were Indonesian Ambassador Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Donald Emerson from Stanford University, former state enterprises minister Laksamana Sukardi, Muslim thinker Nurcholis Madjid, and former minister of state and administrative reform Ryaas Rasyid.