Wolfowitz has high hopes for Aceh

Wolfowitz has high hopes for Aceh

Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz is
still very much linked to Indonesia, as made evident at a press
conference here on Saturday when he expressed hope that the
tsunami catastrophe would unite the country, and spoke a few
sentences in Bahasa Indonesia.

Speaking at the Indonesian Air Force base here, Wolfowitz said
the government's quick and massive response to the disaster,
particularly in the relief operation, should open an opportunity
for the Acehnese "to find that their government, the Indonesian
government, is concerned about their welfare."

Nevertheless, it would all depend on whether the government
succeeds in its relief operation to cater for the emergency needs
of the people, as well as in the future reconstruction of the
province.

In addition, Wolfowitz said, the outpouring of help from
people from other parts of Indonesia should help the Acehnese to
eventually feel more comfortable to be part of Indonesia.

"I am struck by (the words of) several Indonesian friends I
talked to on the phone over the last week, saying that the
outpouring of sympathy from Jakarta and the rest of Indonesia is
unprecedented, and I hope that with the success of this relief
and reconstruction, there can be a similar feeling from the
Acehnese people that it's good to be part of Indonesia,"
Wolfowitz told foreign and local journalists.

Accompanied by Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Endriartono
Sutarto, Wolfowitz appeared relaxed during the press conference.
When a local journalist asked his permission to raise a question
in Bahasa Indonesia, the deputy secretary responded in Bahasa
Indonesia: "Saya sudah banyak lupa" (I have forgotten it a lot)
and asked the journalist to speak pelan-pelan (slowly).

The journalist asked if the U.S. government was prepared to
give debt relief to the Indonesian government for humanitarian
reasons following the disaster. Responding to the question,
Wolfowitz said: "Life isn't that simple unfortunately."

He noted that the U.S. government had spent quite a lot of
money to help the relief operation and had committed a large
amount of money totaling more than US$350 million for the whole
emergency operation in the region, the bulk of which would go to
Indonesia.

"Frankly speaking, we have been doing a lot and are certainly
looking to do more," he said.

Nevertheless, he warned that the U.S. presence, including its
military forces, in Aceh would not be there for long.

Therefore, he hoped that the government would meet its three-
month deadline for ending the role of foreign military forces in
Aceh.

As the press conference wound up, Wolfowitz expressed his
confidence that, despite the disaster, there would continue to be
optimism for the future. He related this to the fact that
mosques, which are so instrumental in the life of the Acehnese,
are still standing amid the rubble of buildings in devastated
Aceh.

"Maybe that's a good sign for the future," he said.