Violence Ends on Indonesian Tourist Isle

Calm returned to the tourist island of Lombok on Thursday as the United States offered fresh assurances that it stands behind the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid and considers a stable Indonesia essential to the well-being of Southeast Asia.

Lombok, just 20 miles east of the popular resort island of Bali, was rocked by three days of violence this week that left five people dead as Muslim attackers targeted Christian homes and churches. About 350 foreign tourists were evacuated from the island, and, although hotels were not attacked, several five-star resorts put up Islamic banners saying “God Is Great.”

On Wednesday, the State Department issued a warning that U.S. citizens traveling to Indonesia should exercise caution.

The outbreak of violence came as rumors swirled in Jakarta, the capital, of a coup and of military-inspired religious violence in this far-flung nation spreading to the main island of Java. Just last week, Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warned that a coup would have dire economic and political consequences for Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Most Indonesian leaders, including Wahid, have dismissed the possibility of the military wresting power from Indonesia’s first democratically elected government in 40 years. The leaders point out that the army, while powerful, does not have a tradition of coup-making and is too divided and preoccupied with its own problems to seriously consider pushing aside the popular Wahid, who was elected in October.

The respected Kompas daily reported Thursday that armed forces chief Adm. Widodo Adisutjipto and other senior officers had made an unscheduled call on Wahid on Tuesday to pledge support and dismiss the idea of a coup as “nonsensical.”

In the past month, the United States has been unusually vocal in expressing its support for Wahid. U.S. envoy Robert Gelbard has delivered a letter from President Clinton declaring Washington’s backing, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Indonesia is one of four countries the administration will target for increased financial support.

“It is inconceivable that the region as a whole could prosper in the years ahead without an open, stable and vibrant Indonesia,” Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told a business luncheon in Jakarta on Thursday. He was on a one-day visit here on a trip that includes stops in India and Japan.

After Summers congratulated Wahid on his leadership, the president presented his first budget to parliament. It forecast inflation of 3% to 5% and a 3.8% growth in the gross domestic product for the last nine months of 2000. Last year, Indonesia’s 1% economic growth was the lowest in Southeast Asia, and it entered 2000 still rocked by civil strife and economic turmoil.

“We are in a difficult situation,” Wahid said in a message to parliament that was read by his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, because Wahid is legally blind. “We need a safety net to lift the dignity and value of our country.”

Wahid also signed a new letter of intent with the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that will lead to the further release of funds from the IMF’s $45-billion Indonesian rescue package. Investors were heartened by the day’s events and Summers’ statement of support. The stock market gained 2.5% in value, and the local currency--the rupiah--strengthened.

The government has given top economic priority to attracting foreign investment. But the very problems the funds are intended to help solve--such as civic strife rooted in political, economic and religious causes--are keeping investors away.