Washington readying new ambassador to Indonesia

Washington readying new ambassador to Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): The United States government has quietly made
preparations to replace the current Ambassador to Indonesia,
Robert Gelbard, with Ralph "Skip" Boyce, Antara reported from New
York.

Leading American Indonesianist William Liddle of Ohio
University was quoted as saying that the appointment is already
widely known among government officials.

"I heard about it myself from colleagues," he said.

Boyce is deputy assistant to the U.S. secretary of state for
East Asian and Pacific affairs.

However, the Senate still has to approve Boyce's appointment,
Liddle said.

Liddle claimed that on various occasions, ranking State
Department official James Kelly had informally introduced Boyce
to a limited audience as the candidate for U.S. ambassador to
Jakarta.

Asked if Boyce's appointment would be coupled with new
policies on Indonesia, Liddle said he had yet to see an
indication that the new envoy would bring new policies to
Jakarta.

So far, the Bush administration had yet to show any new
direction in foreign policy on Indonesia, in particular,
regarding the archipelago's current political situation, he said.

Thus, it is not true if some parties had said that the U.S.
government supported or no longer supports something that is
happening in Indonesia, including the issue of national
leadership, he added.

Gelbard, who was assigned to Jakarta during the Clinton
administration, had triggered strong resistance from various
political elements in Indonesia.

He has been repeatedly accused of interfering in Indonesia's
domestic affairs through his statements.