Ramli has been in the limelight after a scuffle of words with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He told the monetary donor consortium not to tie its meeting on Indonesia with political issues.

"We have some requests to make to donor countries. One of them is to separate the political from the economic issues, because here we are talking about the future of the 200 million people of Indonesia," Ramli said after an informal meeting with representatives of CGI donor countries.

The United Nations (U.N.) and the U.S., alongside Australia and other foreign nations, have been pressing the CGI to consider punitive measures against Indonesia over last month's killing of three U.N. workers near the country's border with East Timor.

An embattled Indonesia has been struggling to clear its name over the triple murder of the U.N. workers, the revolt of pro-Indonesian militia in East Timor and the apparent difficulty the army has encountered in disarming those militias.

Representatives of Japan, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) attended the informal meeting.

Ramli said Japan and Australia have shown a positive response to Indonesia's efforts to settle the killing of the U.N. workers in the town of Atambua, in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province.

"We do not want to invite the U.N. observers before we make some progress [in East Nusa Tenggara]. We will first make our move, then we will invite the U.N. observers [to come to the province] next month," he said.

Alwi Suhaib, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, has repeatedly said that Indonesia could not allow U.N. observers back in the region. He alluded that Indonesia did not need any assistance from anyone to clear its name from the ill repute created since the granting of independence to East Timor almost 2 years ago.

Ramli's main concern is the recovery program of the Indonesian economy, which is showing strong signs of economic growth and profitability, analysts say.

Ramli requested flexibility from the donor countries in preparing programs and allocating funds because Indonesia's economic recovery is expected to surge forward next year.

"This should be such so that we could respond to any change in the implementation [of the programs]," he said.

He also called on donor countries to adjust their perspective to Indonesia's medium-term development plan. "It would be difficult for Indonesia to make a new program each year, hence the medium-term plan is necessary. The CGI should adjust its perspective to that," he explained.

The Indonesian delegation was met by a noisy demonstration in Tokyo, where some 30 people from various groups in Japan held a protest against military violence in Indonesia in front of the CGI meeting venue.

The demonstrators came from the Network for Indonesian Democracy Japan (Nindja), the Japan NGO Network on Indonesia (JANNI), and the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace.

Some of the posters read, "Stop military violence" and "No loans for killers."

In its letter to World Bank president, James D. Wolfensohn, Nindja asked the organization and other donors in the CGI to consider violence and human rights abuse in many regions in Indonesia, including those in Atambua (East Nusa Tenggara), Aceh, Maluku, and Irian Jaya.

Indonesia urges U.N. to democratize

Indonesia has also urged the United Nations to democratize itself in order to be able to address the challenges of the 21st century by developing an effective international legal system and applying just and balanced multilateral policies.

Addressing the panel discussion, "Indonesia is facing globalization", Indonesia's Permanent Representative to the U.N., Makarim Wibisono, described as "unfair and imbalanced" the multilateral politics which mark relations among countries today.

The U.N., particularly the Security Council, is controlled by the Big Five with permanent seats - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, he said.

"They hold veto rights. If the U.S. says no, so be it. This is not fair," he said. With this criticism Indonesia has joined neighboring Malaysia, which also condemns the veto system in the U.N.'s Security Council. In the past, India and other non-aligned movements campaigned fruitlessly against the veto system.

He said Indonesia has proposed that the U.N. be revamped in order to allow developing countries' representation in the world body.

	Summit Ends With Call For End Of Violence
	Hamas Pledges To Continue Uprising Regardless Of Summit Results
	Pro-Palestinian Protestors Hit The Streets In Toronto
	South Florida Protest Calls For Jihad
	Rabbi Says Muslim Religious Sensitivities Must Be Addressed
	Navy Recovers Seven Bodies As U.S. Sees Good Start To Yemen Blast Probe
	Iraq Will Not Extradite Hijackers To Saudi Arabia
	Turkey Urges "Immediate" Implementation Of Sharm El-Sheikh Accords
	Russian Security Services Uncover Muslim Brotherhood Operations
	Clan Leader Backs Off From Reconciliation Bid
	Nigerian Army Sent In To Quell Clashes As More Than 100 Die
	Iran Press And Officials Blast Egypt, Israel, U.S. Peace Summit
	Egypt's Month-Long Elections Begin Wednesday Without Islamist Element
	Health Workers Mobilize To Contain Horror Disease In Uganda
	Two Kashmiri Fighters Killed In Kashmir Gunbattle
	U.N. Mission Offers Helping Hand To Displaced People In The Horn Of Africa
	EU In $1.7 Million Deal To Promote West African Common Market

Top News