Obama visit delay to June 'suitable' for Indonesia

Jakarta | Fri, 03/19/2010 11:04 AM | National The delay of US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Indonesia, now set for June, is in line with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's preference, Indonesia presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said here Friday.

Dino said Yudhoyono had earlier suggested that the visit was delayed until June even before Obama postponed the start of his Indonesian visit from March 20 to March 23.

"We understand that this is based on political necessity. The statement made by the White House was that President Obama himself was very disappointed and regretful that he could not make the visit," Dino told a press conference at the Presidential Office.

"We know that this visit is important to President Obama, that Indonesia is an important country, that there's a strong commitment to launch a comprehensive partnership.

"We're glad as from the beginning it is President Yudhoyono's preference... so that the visit is done without political rush. We want the visit to be 100 percent a success, where Obama can fully focuse on the Indonesia-US bilateral relationship," he added.

Dino said the visit would be done around mid-June, and that June was basically an option discussed by the two country leaders during their meeting in the G-20 meeting in Pitssburg last year.

"President [Yudhoyono] said it was better in June because summer holiday will have begun and [Obama] can bring the First Lady and his children to Indonesia."

The White House announced last night [Jakarta time] that Obama's visit to Indonesia and Australia, formerly set for next week, would be delayed until June.

The US President is facing pressure to stay at home to push past the health care reform bill, which is the main part of his campaign when running for the presidency.

US statement on the delay of Obama’s trip

Jakarta | Fri, 03/19/2010 12:18 PM | World

US President Barack Obama is pleased the House has posted the healthcare legislation on the Internet and that a final vote is going ahead, says White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

But since the House rules rightly provide for a 72-hour public review period, it is clear that a final vote on health insurance reform cannot take place before Sunday afternoon, Gibbs said in a statement run on the US Embassy Jakarta's website on Friday.

As a result, the President telephoned the leaders of Indonesia and Australia and told them that he must postpone his planned visits there for a later date so he could remain in Washington for the critical vote. The President now expects to visit Indonesia and Australia in June.

“The President greatly regrets the delay. Our international alliances are critical to America’s security and economic progress. But the passage of health insurance reform is of paramount importance, and the President is determined to see this battle through,” the statement said.

Obama postpones Asia trip to focus on health care

Washington | Fri, 03/19/2010 7:25 AM

President Barack Obama has postponed his trip to Asia until June so he can stay in Washington for a possible Sunday vote on his health care overhaul.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday the president is disappointed and regrets having to delay his visits to Indonesia and Australia but has told the leaders of those nations that health care is a crucial priority.

"The president believes right now, the place for him to be is in Washington seeing this through," Gibbs said.

Obama had already delayed the trip to Indonesia and Australia, pushing back a Thursday departure until Sunday so he could help Democrats in Congress rally last-minute votes for the plan.

White House staff had tried to find a way to push the trip back another few days, but by Thursday morning, it was clear the only way the president could still travel to Australia and Indonesia was if he left early Sunday afternoon. With the House likely to hold a vote on the health care bill sometime Sunday, Gibbs said, "very little padding remained."

Obama made the final decision to delay the trip during a brief Oval Office meeting Thursday morning with top aides, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and national security adviser James Jones.

House Democrats believe they are on track to vote Sunday on a $940 billion health care bill that will expand coverage to millions. If the bill passes, the Senate will begin considering changes to the bill next week.

Democratic lawmakers welcomed the president's decision to stay in town.

Said the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, "He wants to be here for the history."

"He may have to twist some arms," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat. "He may have to talk to some people. His personal presence helps."

The president's trip had originally been scheduled to coincide with his daughters' spring break from school. After the first delay, the White House announced the president's family would no longer accompany him overseas and the president's trip would be shortened by a day as aides sought to tamp down criticism that he was taking a family vacation as the health care debate reached its crucial final stages.

The trip to Indonesia was to be a homecoming of sorts for the president, who spent four years in the world's largest Muslim country as a boy when his mother married an Indonesian man. A statue of Obama as a 10-year-old boy has been erected at the elementary school he attended.

Obama also had been scheduled to deliver his first address to the Muslim world since his historic speech in Cairo last year and had been scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Obama was to address Australia's parliament and meet with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, with whom he shares a close relationship on the issues of climate change and the war in Afghanistan.

Rudd spoke with Obama early Friday morning Australian time, and said the president told him he was looking forward to having "a more relaxed visit" to Australia in June, rather than the 24-hour stop that had been planned for next week. Rudd, who has had his own issues with a problematic Senate, told Obama he sympathizes with his battle over health care reform.

Other U.S. officials have dropped plans to visit Australia and Indonesia this year. Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled visits to both Australia and Indonesia in January, so that he could remain in Washington for coordination of the U.S. military response to the earthquake in Haiti. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton canceled a trip to Australia at the same time, also because of the earthquake.

Gates and Clinton had planned to attend an annual summit with their Australian counterparts that is a diplomatic priority for Australia, a close ally and a steadfast troop contributor to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time of the cancellations, Gates and Clinton said the Australia summit would be rescheduled.

Obama's Asia trip more about influence than policy

Washington | Tue, 03/16/2010 8:26 AM

President Barack Obama's second trip to Asia since taking office is unlikely to result in tangible accomplishments, but the two-country sojourn could be an important step in restoring U.S. influence in the region.

The economy, terrorism and climate change all figure to play prominently in Obama's stops in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and Australia, a key U.S. ally and supporter of American military efforts in Afghanistan.

Obama is the first U.S. president in at least a decade to travel to Southeast Asia for anything other than a regional summit, a move administration officials say reflects his efforts to strengthen relationships with smaller, emerging nations.

"There are a number of important middle powers, countries like Australia and Indonesia who are significant players," said Jeff Bader, the president's senior adviser for Asia.

As the president prepares to undertake his first international trip of the year, scheduled for Sunday, domestic politics have threatened to overshadow his foreign policy goals.

The ongoing debate on health care reform forced Obama to push back his original Thursday departure by three days so he could stay in Washington and help Democrats in Congress rally last-minute votes for his overhaul plan.

The change in itinerary also meant first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha would no longer accompany the president abroad, despite the fact that the trip had been scheduled to coincide with the girls' spring break from school.

Obama had hoped to show his family his boyhood haunts in Indonesia, where he spent four years after his mother married an Indonesian man. A bronze statue of a 10-year-old Obama was recently erected at the elementary school he attended.

During his two-day stop in Jakarta, Obama will meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In a separate appearance, he'll deliver his first address to the Muslim world since his historic speech in Cairo last year.

Obama will also spend a day in Bali, a well-known tourist destination that has been struck by deadly terrorist attacks. There he will meet with civil society leaders and hold an event promoting the role civil society has played in Indonesia's emerging democracy.

The president's itinerary in Australia has been scaled back due to the delay in his departure. He'll no longer visit Sydney, where his family was expected to do some sightseeing, and instead stop only in Australia's capital, Canberra.

He will meet with Prim Minister Kevin Rudd, with whom he shares a close relationship on the issues of climate change and the war in Afghanistan.

Obama will address Australia's parliament and mark the 70th anniversary of relations between the U.S. and Australia.

In some parts of Asia, the most carefully watched stop of Obamas trip will be the first, and the shortest - a speech he'll make to U.S. service members stationed in Guam while his plane refuels before heading to Indonesia.

The tiny U.S. Pacific territory is at the center of a growing rift between Washington and Japan. Under a post-World War II pact, the U.S. has about 50,000 troops in Japan, most of whom are on the island of Okinawa. Both countries had agreed to close the sprawling Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and relocate 8,000 Marines to Guam.

While Tokyo's previous administration agreed to build a replacement for Futenma farther north on a less-populated part of kinawa, Japan's new coalition government is divided over whether a base should remain in Japan at all. The U.S. says the transfer of Marines to Guam cannot move forward until the new site on Okinawa is finalized.

Obama visit hoped to encourage pluralism

Jakarta | Mon, 03/15/2010 9:47 AM | Headlines

As thousands of followers of the conservative Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir, held demonstrations Sunday against the planned visit of the US President Barack Obama, human rights activists said they hoped he would foster greater respect for pluralism.

From continued violence against Ahmadiyah followers to the burning of churches across the country, scholars and activists admit there are many pitfalls in Indonesia’s embrace of religious and cultural difference.

“Discrimination and violence against minorities still exists. And such intolerance occurs both within and among religious groups,” said Hendardi, the executive director of the Setara Institute.

Hendardi said that although Obama’s visit could be used by some officials to justify the progress of the country’s condition in terms of democracy, human rights and pluralism, he and other activists would voice the real condition of the country to urge the US to help solve problems resulting from intolerance.

He said the election of a black American as the US president, which was previously unimaginable, could inspire Indonesians.

“Obama’s story itself is a living example of how we can fight intolerance and discrimination.

“We don’t believe the US should be silent about human rights violations in the country just because it has economic interests in Indonesia.”

The veteran activist said that Obama and his Democratic Party, which is known for its attention to issues such as human rights and democracy, could help solve problems such as the current plight of the Ahmadiyah.

The Ahmadiyah are deemed as heretics by mainstream Muslims for recognizing Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the sect, as a prophet.

Islamic teaching says that Muhammad is the final prophet.

For years, Ahmadis have suffered attacks from various hard-line Muslim groups, including the fire-bombing of their mosques and homes.

Recently, a number of human rights activists filed a judicial review of the 1965 Blasphemy Law with the Constitutional Court, arguing the law had been abused to justify attacks on minority groups.

Yunianti Chuzzifah, the chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), said that her organization had received several reports from women who faced discrimination because they were followers of religious sects and traditional beliefs not officially recognized by the government.

“Female members of some faiths and beliefs that aren’t recognized by the state can’t obtain an ID card unless they list one of the official religions [on the ID], which is done against their will.”

Novel of Barrack Obama's childhood launched

Mon, 03/15/2010 5:28 PM

Indonesian novelist and painter Damien Dematra Monday launched a novel entitled Obama Anak Menteng, or The Menteng's Kid Obama, which tells about President US Barack Obama's childhood in the country.

Obama spent four years of his childhood in the district of Menteng, Central Jakarta, a few decades ago.

Damien said that the novel comprises testimonies of Obama's friends while he was little.

“Obama's biography could inspire many people. He successfully realized the power of dreams. Obama teaches us to always aim high,” he said as quoted by kompas.com at the sidelines of a novel launching at SDN 1 Besuki state elementary school in Menteng, where Obama went to school.

Damien has planned to deliver the novel to Obama, who is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta some time in the third or fourth week of March.

Obama gives away $1.4M Nobel prize

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to donate the $1.4 million from his Nobel Peace Prize to helping students, veterans' families and survivors of Haiti's earthquake, among others, drawing attention to organizations he said "do extraordinary work."

Obama is giving a total of $750,000 to six groups that help children go to college. Fisher House, which provides housing for families with loved ones at Veterans Administration hospitals, will receive $250,000, the White House said Thursday. And the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, for which two former presidents are raising money to rebuild earthquake-ravaged Haiti, will receive $200,000.

"These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need," Obama said in a statement. "I'm proud to support their work."

Obama was chosen for the Nobel award more for his aspirations and approach than his accomplishments thus far. The Nobel committee honored him for changing the tenor of international politics and for pursuing goals Obama says will require worldwide effort, such as nuclear disarmament and reversing global warming.

Obama himself was surprised by the award, and aides said at the time he would donate the cash prize to charity.

The Fisher House donation would help pay for three new homes at Bethesda Naval Hospital and Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies of Americans killed overseas are flown.

"It's work that needs to be done for these men and women who have served this nation so gallantly," Fisher House Foundation Chairman and CEO Kenneth Fisher said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's a privilege to serve these men and women and these families because they give so much to this nation."

The funds for Haiti would go to the rebuilding effort led by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. A Jan. 12 earthquake wrecked Haiti and killed more than 200,000 people, and the United States is playing an active role in rebuilding the country.

In addition, Obama plans to give $125,000 apiece to groups that help students go to college: College Summit, a national nonprofit that works with elementary and middle school students to boost college enrollment rates; the Posse Foundation, which gives full college scholarships to public school students who might be overlooked by traditional scholarship programs; United Negro College Fund; the Hispanic Scholarship Fund; the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation; and the American Indian College Fund.

Obama also is donating $100,000 to AfriCare, which funds HIV/AIDS programs, public health programs, water resource development and agriculture in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. He will give $100,000 to the Central Asia Institute, which promotes education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Obama accepted his peace prize just days after announcing he was stepping up U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan.