Washington DC – The United States government has pledged to assist President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government in building a stable, united and democratic Indonesia, according to a joint statement between the two countries' leaders here Wednesday night. US President George W Bush and his Indonesian counterpart issued two joint statements following their meeting at the White House.
Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said one of the documents was about bilateral relations between the two countries, and the other was about cooperation on terrorism and religious tolerance.
Bush expressed strong US support for continued political and economic reform in Indonesia.
The statement noted that the two leaders had agreed to open a new period on bilateral cooperation, which will be based on democratic values and joint interest in promoting regional stability and welfare.
Bush has pledged to secure US$130 million for Indonesia in the 2002 state budget of the US. The fund will be used to assist education and the reform of laws in Indonesia. He also promised additional loans totalling $10 million for refugees in Maluku island and $5 million to support a reconciliation program in the restive province of Aceh.
The US president reaffirmed his support for an integrated Indonesia, saying Washington would never support the separatist demands in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
Washington also promised to normalize its military relations with Indonesia as the two presidents agreed to establish a bilateral security dialog. Bush said he would allocate $400,000 for a program of "expanded international military education and training" (E-IMET).
Some members of his administration want to explore a limited resumption of military links with Indonesia, frozen when the military was implicated in militia rampages and serious human rights abuses after East Timor voted for independence in 1999. Bush also announced that the US will revoke its embargo on the sale of non-lethal defense articles to Indonesia.
The other statement emphasized that Islam was a religion of peace which neither teaches hatred nor condones violence.
Megawati encouraged Bush in his stated purpose of building a broad coalition across religious lines and cultures to deal with these new and dangerous threats, it was said.
In her joint appearance with Bush, Megawati noted that she had condemned the "inhumane" attacks as soon as they occurred. "This is the position of my government on this issue. So it is very clear Indonesia has always been against violence," she said.
"You represent the nation with the most Muslim people in the world," Bush told Megawati in a joint Oval Office appearance. "I have made it clear Madame President that the war against terrorism is not a war against Muslims, nor is it a war against Arabs," said Bush. "It is a war against evil people who conduct crimes against innocent people," he said.