I need to say nothing here....just contrast these two headlines which both came out with the past hour:
Indonesia to get 219 million pounds of US tsunami relief
AND
Security Threat Prompts Closure of US Embassy in Indonesia
Indonesia to get 219 million pounds of US tsunami relief
Thu May 26, 2005 1:56 PM BST
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Indonesia will receive $400 million (219.5 million pounds) in U.S. aid, nearly half of the total tsunami relief pledged by the U.S. government, according to a joint statement issued after President George W. Bush met with Indonesia's president on Wednesday.
The United States has promised a total of $857 million for tsunami-related aid to help countries hit by the giant waves in December that killed 228,000 people.
In a joint Oval Office appearance, Bush praised Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his leadership through the disaster.
"You showed good, great courage," Bush said. "And it's been our honour to work with you to help save lives and to bring people, order out of the chaos that ensued after the terrible disaster."
The two countries pledged to strengthen military, education, economic and counterterrorism cooperation.
Bush, who is pressing for greater democratic reforms in the Middle East and greater understanding of the United States in the Muslim world, said Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, could play a key role in achieving these goals.
"Indonesia will play a large role, and a significant role, in helping us understand that great religions should co-exist in a peaceful way," Bush said.
Indonesia intends to send Islamic scholars to the United States to promote inter-faith dialogue, the joint statement said.
Yudhoyono, a U.S.-trained former general who last year became the first directly elected president of Indonesia, said he would like to move forward on normalising military relations with the United States.
Washington has previously said fuller military ties required accounting for violence in East Timor in 1999 and prosecution of the killers of two Americans in remote Papua in 2002.
Indonesia is an ally in the U.S. war against terrorism, but the government faces a population that opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I do hope that in the future we, we are moving ahead for fully normalisations of the military-to-military relations," Yudhoyono said, pledging to make more military reforms.
Indonesia and the United States will resume bilateral energy consultations "after an eight-year hiatus," the joint statement said. The first round will be on Thursday and participants are to report back to the two presidents before the APEC summit later this year, the statement said.
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Security Threat Prompts Closure of US Embassy in Indonesia
By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Jakarta
26 May 2005
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The U.S. Embassy has closed all its offices in Indonesia citing an unspecified terrorist threat. The closure comes as Indonesia's president is in the United States to strengthen ties with Washington.
U.S. officials have given no details of the threat that forced the closure of the embassy and other U.S. facilities in Indonesia.
"The American embassy in Jakarta is closed because of security threat," said Max Kwak, a U.S. embassy spokesman in Jakarta. "Not only the American embassy in Jakarta but also all American government offices including consulate general in Surabaya, our office in Medan, and also consulate agency in Bali - they're all closed until further notice. That's all I can say."
An Indonesian armored vehicle pulls up outside of the U.S. Embassy, Thursday, May 26, 2005, in Jakarta
An embassy statement also reminded all Americans the threat of a terror attack in Indonesia "remains high." The United States has warned its citizens for several years to avoid travel to Indonesia and, when there, to take security precautions.
The closure of the U.S. facilities comes a week after Australia issued a warning to its citizens to avoid travel to Indonesia because of a warning by Jakarta police of possible suicide bombings at public places including embassies, shopping malls, offices, and international schools.
Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, has been hit by a series of bombings over the past three years, most blamed on the regional terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah. J.I., which has links to the al-Qaida terror network, advocates establishing an Islamic state across much of Southeast Asia.
The attacks include the 2002 bombings in the resort island of Bali that claimed 202 lives, most of them foreigners, the 2003 blast at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which took 12 lives and last year's bombing of the Australian Embassy, which killed 10 people.
Dozens of militants linked to J.I. have been arrested and convicted in the Bali and Marriott bombings, but scores of terror suspects remain at large. Officials in Jakarta believe they are hiding in Indonesia.
The U.S. terror warning comes as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on a visit to the United States aimed at fully restoring defense ties between the two nations.
The United States cut military ties with Jakarta in the 1990's because of the Indonesian army's worsening human rights record. Military ties, however, have been gradually restored over the past few years as Indonesia has battled the threat of terrorism.
President Yudhoyono, a former general who became Indonesia's first directly elected president last year, reiterated to President Bush his commitment to reforming the military and strengthening civilian control of the country. |
