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)