Indonesia: Junta and Suu Kyi Urged to Continue Dialog
Thursday, 28 August, 2008 | 19:40 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged the Burma junta military to continue the dialog with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that was stopped in January. “This becomes the President’s concern,” said presidential spokesperson Dino Patti Djalal at the press conference held after the meeting between Indonesian President and the UN’s representative for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, yesterday.

Ibrahim Gambari just finished his six-day visit to Burma and reported to Yudhoyono. “The President gave a response,” said Dino. In the 45-minute meeting, Yudhoyono said he would continue supporting the UN’s role in solving the problem in Burma.

The President emphasized that taking care of the country’s credibility is important for the 2010 election. “Credibility should be followed by the inclusive process as Burma is on the roadmap to democracy,” he said.

Dino said the President expected Ibrahim Gambari to visit Burma on a regular basis. Gambari could not meet the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi. “The President promised to keep up the correspondence with General Tan Shwe,” he said.

It is reported that food is not sent any more to Suu Kyi’s house where she had been arrested. She reported the last food received was on August 15. However, the NLD claimed that it is not sure about this. Earlier Suu Kyi has been reported refusing to eat but the junta denied it.

“I cannot confirm whether she is on food strike or not, but we know that she has not received food any more for two weeks. We are concerned about it especially when we do not have a direct contact person to make sure,” said NLD’s spokesperson, Nyan Win.

NININ DAMAYANTI | AFP | JULI