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Indonesia
Alliance with Bush Hurts Yet Another Global Leader - This Time Indonesia's Megawati
Spain's Jose Aznar paid a stiff price for supporting Bush against the wishes of his people. Now it looks like Bush supporter Indonesia President Megawati is experiencing the same backlash. Crosswalk.com reports: "Opinion polls suggest, however, that Megagawati Sukarnoputri's position ahead of the July presidential vote is looking shaky. An IFES poll placed her almost seven points behind her former security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was regarded as one of the most effective cabinet ministers in a government otherwise seen as uninspiring. Furthermore, Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is expected to lose many seats to the Golkar party of the dictator Suharto - a negative backlash that could mean trouble for the US later."
"Resident George Bush has announced he is ready to resume military aid to Indonesia and renew ties with its armed forces, in a statement that has stunned members of the US Congress... The US Congress had blocked the resumption of military ties until Indonesia fully co-operated on the investigation into the killing of two American teachers near the Freeport mine in West Papua last year. But Mr Bush said: 'We will discuss mil-to-mil [military to military] relations. For a while Congress put restrictions on it but now the Congress has changed their attitude and I think we can go forward with a package of mil-to-mil because of the co-operation of the [Indonesian] government...' However, the widow of one of the victims, Patsy Spier, expressed outrage. 'I am shocked and disappointed. I just don't understand. Who told the Resident there was cooperation? It wasn't the FBI, it wasn't the State Department. It's not the Congress. No one is saying what the Resident is saying.'"
05-Apr-04
Indonesia
18-Oct-03
Indonesia