U.S. to have new envoy to RI

U.S. to have new envoy to RI

JAKARTA (JP): Washington will soon send its ambassador to Indonesia now that the U.S. Senate has approved President Bill Clinton's nomination.

The Senate gave its approval on Tuesday for 18 U.S. ambassadors, including the envoy to Indonesia. Approval had been stalled for months because of a dispute between Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Clinton administration, Reuters reported.

The Senate ended the delay on Tuesday, paving the way for the approval of the ambassadors, the START-2 arms control treaty with Russia, State Department promotions and other legislative matters.

The ambassadorial position in Indonesia has been vacant since the departure of Ambassador Robert L. Barry in July.

Barry will be replaced by J. Stapleton Roy, former ambassador to China, whose appointment was announced by the State Department as far back as July.

Roy is a career diplomat with nearly 40 years of foreign service experience. His most recent posting was as the U.S. ambassador in Beijing, where he served since August 1991.

He was ambassador to Singapore from 1984 to 1986, and has represented the U.S. in Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong and Moscow. (emb)