For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 18, 2003
Interview of the President by Rosianna Silalahi, SCTV
The Library
October 14, 2003
3:37 P.M. EDT
Q 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 bombings 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.
Q 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.
Q 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.
Q 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.
Q 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.
Q 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. 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.
Q 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.
Q 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.
Q And how about Papua?
THE PRESIDENT: Same, peaceful negotiations.
Q 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.
Q 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 awhile, 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.
Q Thank you, Mr. President, so many questions, but --
THE PRESIDENT: So little time?
Q So little time.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, give your mother my best.
Q I thank you very much.
END 3:43 P.M. EDT
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