*EPF514 09/21/01
Text: Ambassador-designate Boyce 21 September Senate Testimony
(Stresses importance of Indonesia in fighting terrorism) (1260)
The United States and Indonesia are together in the struggle against terrorism according to U.S. Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Ralph Boyce.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee September 21, Boyce linked the visit of Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri to Washington with President Bush's "commitment to help Indonesia's nascent democracy succeed."
As the leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, Boyce said, President Megawati "committed Indonesia to be a partner in our fight against terrorism, and signed a joint statement with President Bush on combating terrorism while encouraging religious tolerance."
The joint statement, Boyce added, "highlights the value that both nations place upon making a clear distinction between religion and terrorism."
Following is the text of the September 21 statement of Ambassador-designate Ralph Boyce before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
(begin text)
Statement of Ralph L. "Skip" Boyce
Ambassador-Designate to Indonesia
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
September 21, 2001
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am very grateful to have this opportunity to appear before you today as President Bush's nominee to be our next Ambassador to Indonesia. Indonesia is a country that I have followed for a long time, and as you know, one that has been at the peak of America's interests in Southeast Asia for an even longer time. I know from my own experience that our relationship with Indonesia continues to be of interest to the Committee and to the American people, and if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to advance American interests there.
Indonesia is at a crossroads. An unsatisfactory experience with parliamentary rule in the 1950's left many Indonesians skeptical of the promises of democracy. More recently, newfound hopes placed in President Wahid were dashed as he was unable to address Indonesia's economic, political, and social crises. With a peaceful, constitutional leadership transition achieved in July, however, Indonesia has a new opportunity to show that it can fulfill its democratic promise. President Megawati's visit to Washington this week provided tangible evidence of President Bush's commitment to help Indonesia's nascent democracy succeed.
The tragic events of September 11 and President Megawati's visit thrust Indonesia even further into the world spotlight. As leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, President Megawati committed Indonesia to be a partner in our fight against terrorism, and signed a joint statement with President Bush on combating terrorism while encouraging religious tolerance. The joint statement highlights the value that both nations place upon making a clear distinction between religion and terrorism. In an address to the US-Indonesia Society, President Megawati said "I am convinced that in this changed world, America's basic values will be even stronger, and will become a richer source of universal inspiration.
Her commitment to fight terrorism arises from the fact that Indonesia itself has been a recent victim of it. Last year, it suffered the bombings of its stock market, the Philippine Ambassador's residence in Jakarta, and a wave of church bombings last Christmas, to name just a few incidents. We maintain a warning to American tourists about travel to Indonesia as a result of these incidents and other threats. As Ambassador, I will make maintenance of Indonesia's support for the international coalition against terrorism my highest priority, along with a continuing commitment to the protection of American citizens and businesses.
Indonesia faces a host of transnational criminal threats in addition to terrorism, including piracy, money laundering, and trafficking in persons, small arms and drugs. The United States shares an interest in addressing these problems which interact to impede Indonesia's ability to build the institutions of democracy, rule of law, and a free market.
The U.S. has a strong interest in seeing democratic Indonesia succeed, and that will partly depend on careful management of the U.S.-Indonesia relationship and a firm grasp of the issues it faces. Having served in earlier tours as a commercial attache and financial economist, I have a particular interest in one of Indonesia's most pressing concerns: the urgent need for fundamental economic reform. Privatization of the banking sector, liquidation of government financial assets, and a fair and transparent investment environment are all areas of concern. Indonesia needs to get these reforms right if it is to win back investor confidence. The structure, timing, and conditions of both multilateral and American bilateral assistance packages will be crucial in the coming months and years to help Indonesia overcome its economic challenges.
But it is not just the economy that needs reform. A legacy of the Soeharto era is the need for reform across the spectrum. Justice is no exception. Encouraging a culture of accountability among security units, prosecutors, and the courts is an area where the U.S. seeks to encourage change through diplomatic dialogue and by making experts available.
Another urgent issue is separatism. The United States strongly supports Indonesia's territorial integrity and does not back any separatist movement. At the same time, we also want to help Indonesia deal peacefully with separatist pressures. We have done so in a practical way by providing technical assistance for Indonesia's experiment in decentralization. We can also counsel the new government to approach separatist struggles and communal violence in a way that simultaneously protects the territorial integrity of Indonesia and the human rights of her citizens.
In addressing all of these issues, the U.S. strategy is to work wherever possible through NGO's to continue to invigorate civil society. We are also concentrating our assistance efforts to ensure that Indonesia has a police force that can appropriately handle civil problems, and leave the military to concentrate on external defense and crisis response.
Mr. Chairman, I know that our interaction with the Indonesian Armed Forces is a matter of strong interest. I believe the Armed Forces remain a central, and truly national institution, with enormous potential to support or subvert Indonesia's democratization. We can and should work constructively with the Indonesian National Military (TNI) to promote professionalization and reform and to advance U.S. interests.
In doing so, we cannot ignore the human rights abuses by many TNI members and the lack of accountability for those abuses. Legislative restrictions on U.S. interaction with the Indonesian military are an important reminder to Indonesia's leaders and its military of the importance of human rights issues to the world in general and to the United States in particular. We must strive, therefore, to advance our cooperative agenda with the Indonesian military in a manner which serves to inculcate both greater professionalism and respect for human rights.
Just as Indonesia is now at the crossroads, so is our relationship. We have an historic opportunity to pursue American interests while the situation is changing, institutions are being transformed, and new linkages are being built. Cooperation on transnational terrorism and crime has clearly been identified as a top priority. The economy is undergoing profound changes, and we are ready to help Indonesia with its reform process. Democratic concepts are taking root, and our programs are helping to build democratic institutions.
If confirmed, I look forward to working with you as we implement policies that further U.S.-Indonesia relations at this time of enormous challenge and opportunity.
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for considering my nomination. I would be happy to respond to your questions.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN