[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 43 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Pages 1419-1421]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Interview With Rosianna Silalahi of Indonesia's SCTV

October 14, 2003

Indonesia's Role in the War on Terror

    Ms. Silalahi. Mr. President, thank you for your time. What 
specifically do you want to do by Megawati--President Megawati--in 
fighting terrorism? What--[inaudible]--some assistance to your country?
    The President. First of all, President Megawati has responded to the 
war on terror, and I appreciate that. She's responded in a way that I 
think the people of her country ought to be proud--your country ought to 
be proud. Terrorism is such--it's such a stain. It's a horrible thing 
that people have to live with. The terrorists want to create fear. 
That's what they want to do. They want to kill innocent life to create 
fear.
    And the Bali bombing was a terrible moment for Indonesia and 
obviously those who lost life. But President Megawati refuses to stand 
in fear of the terrorists. What I want her to do is to continue to work 
closely with the United States and others, to share intelligence, find 
money as it floats around, and to bring people to justice.

Information Sharing on Hambali

    Ms. Silalahi. How do you expect President Megawati or Indonesia to 
cooperate with the United States if we don't have a chance to question 
Hambali one on one?
    The President. I think the thing on Hambali is--first of all, the 
good news is he's not a problem anymore. He's not a threat. And as I 
explained to the President that we will share any information with her. 
But right now, the key is to find out as much as we possibly can, and 
when we get information, we will share it with her.
    Ms. Silalahi. Well, the problem is that Indonesia needs a chance 
that--the Indonesian police to question Hambali directly, not just to 
share information.
    The President. Yes.
    Ms. Silalahi. When are you going to give us this chance?
    The President. Right now, we're going to get as much information as 
we possibly can.
    Ms. Silalahi. So there's no way that Indonesia will have their 
chance to question Hambali?
    The President. I wouldn't say, ``No way.'' You said, ``No way.'' I 
didn't say, ``No way.'' I said, ``Right now, we're going to get as much 
information as we can to make sure America is secure and Indonesia's 
secure. And any information we get, we'll be glad to share with the 
President.'' I've explained this to her, and she understands.

Situation in the Middle East/Terrorism

    Ms. Silalahi. Sir, Indonesia is a moderate and--[inaudible]--Muslim 
society. But the way U.S. handle terrorism issues and by the U.S. 
foreign policy in the Middle East is distancing society. Aren't you 
concerned that this moderate society could be militant eventually?
    The President. Well, first of all, terrorism--the Bali bombers 
decided to kill innocent people based upon their own ideology of hatred. 
And our foreign policy in the Middle East is based on the same 
principles that I just discussed with you on the war on terror.

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In order for there to be a peaceful Palestinian state, people have got 
to fight terror. A few people are trying to destroy the hopes of a lot 
of people in the Palestinian territory.
    And so I gave a speech--first of all, I'm the first President ever 
to articulate a Palestinian state and to support a Palestinian state. 
But to get there, it's very important for people to assume 
responsibilities, and one of the key responsibilities is for the 
Palestinian leadership to stand up and fight terror. And we've got a 
good man getting ready to do that. As you know, we had the meeting in 
Aqaba, Jordan, and we were making progress. And then he got eased out, 
pushed aside by the old guard, which has failed the Palestinian people. 
And so they're not assuming their responsibilities.
    But I wouldn't--I think you can make all kinds of excuses for 
terror, but terrorists are interested in one thing, creating fear in 
free societies. That's what they want to do. The only way to deal with 
them is to bring them to justice. And you can do that and protect your 
civil liberties.

Indonesia-U.S. Relations

    Ms. Silalahi. How do you propose to change anti-American sentiment 
in Indonesia?
    The President. Explain what we're all about, explain that we're a 
compassionate country, that we love freedom and human rights and human 
dignity, that we care when people suffer. We've got a great--very 
compassionate foreign policy. One of the things I hope to do is, when I 
go to your country, explain that just like I'm explaining to you now.
    And one of the big scourges of the world is AIDS, and the United 
States of America is leading the fight against AIDS, particularly on the 
continent of Africa. We believe in decency and human rights. We've 
always been a leader on human rights. And we speak out for human rights, 
because we believe in the dignity of each person.

Situation in Papua and Aceh

    Ms. Silalahi. Speaking about human rights, Papua and Aceh are 
struggling to be independent because the human rights has become a 
critical issue. What is your standpoint about this?
    The President. Our standpoint is that we don't think that--in Aceh, 
for example, that the issue should be solved and can be solved 
militarily. It ought to be solved through peaceful negotiations.
    Ms. Silalahi. And how about Papua?
    The President. Same, peaceful negotiations.
    Ms. Silalahi. How about American citizens that got killed in Papua?
    The President. We're not happy about that, of course, and I 
appreciate the Government's full cooperation with our Federal Bureau of 
Investigation that is now seeking out the evidence to determine who the 
killers were.
    Ms. Silalahi. Does it change your military policy towards Indonesia?
    The President. No, as a matter of fact, we're going to discuss mil-
to-mil relations between Indonesia. And for a while, the 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 cooperation 
because of the cooperation of the Government on the killings of two U.S. 
citizens.
    Ms. Silalahi. Thank you, Mr. President. So many questions, but----
    The President. So little time?
    Ms. Silalahi. So little time.
    The President. Well, give your mother my best.
    Ms. Silalahi. I thank you very much.

Note: The interview was taped at 3:37 p.m. in the Library at the White 
House, and the transcript was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 18. In his remarks, the President referred to 
President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia; Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin 
(known as Hambali), Al Qaida's chief operational planner in Southeast 
Asia; former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the Palestinian 
Authority; and Edwin Burgon and Rick Spier, American citizens killed in 
an ambush in Indonesia's Papua province on August 31, 2002. A tape was 
not available for verification of the content of this interview.

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