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Subject: Shadows on the wall for
President Susilo
Received from Joyo Indonesian News
The Jakarta Post Saturday, September 17, 2005
Shadows on the wall for President Susilo
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post/New York
British Prime Minister Tony Blair shook hands with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono in front of the United Nations Security Council office on Thursday
(local time) and softly said,"God bless you" to Susilo after a photo
session.
The President was all-smiles after finishing the 30-minute bilateral talks
with Blair at the office.
At the talks, Susilo won Blair's support for the peace agreement between the
government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) after he received similar
encouragement from U.S. President George W. Bush a day earlier.
On Thursday, there was to be another bonus. U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice was expected to pay a courtesy hotel call to the President
on Thursday evening. All strictly diplomatic, of course.
Winning international support for the Helsinki peace deal is certainly
important for Susilo, who needs international recognition for the deal to
harden support for the idea at home and silence the factions trying to
capitalize on opposition to it.
The President has vowed not to repeat Indonesia's mistakes that led to the
1999 independence of East Timor by resolving the real roots of Aceh's
rebellion against the central government.
Susilo was clearly proud to be seated next to Bush a day earlier during a
working luncheon hosted by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and a photo
opportunity with Blair was another plus.
However, the President may not have realized he was standing with Blair in
front of a picture of a smiling Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao, while a
very real Timor Leste foreign minister and Xanana's representative at the
summit, Jose Ramos-Horta, stood slightly to his side.
The picture on the wall was of Xanana and Kofi Annan during the flag-raising
ceremony at the United Nations headquarters, marking the admission of Timor
Leste as the 191st member of the world body.
The picture hung in the corridor along with other pictures of
self-determination referendums in other countries.
For the Indonesians who noticed, this was a moment pregnant with symbolism.
Could Aceh, we wondered, follow Timor Leste's path if the situation there
was again allowed to deteriorate into violence?
Would future Indonesian presidents at future UN summits end up standing in
front of the UN's latest member country, the Independent Republic of Aceh?
With the deal still in its infancy, Susilo and his government have a lot of
work to do.
Blair's "God bless you," was a nice gesture, but perhaps he could have added
"God help you" too.
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