U.S. pledges to continue helping Indonesian govt

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.