WASHINGTON - Washington yesterday urged Indonesia to open its political system to the opposition, as Jakarta's ruling party headed for a predicted landslide win in the general election there. "We believe Indonesia should now move towards a political system in which the voice of the people can be heard," the State Department spokesman, Mr John Dinger, said.
President Suharto's ruling party, Golkar, had won over 58.6 million of 78.93 million votes counted, or about 74.34 per cent. Other main parties had 25.66 per cent. Campaign violence leading up to the vote left around 260 dead.
Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Richard Gephardt, and seven other US Congress members wrote to President Clinton to protest at repressive actions by Indonesia.
In East Timor, the police chief, Col Yusuf Muharam, said a soldier guarding a polling booth was shot dead yesterday, bringing to 14 the number of deaths in the territory since Wednesday night. Police reported 13 people were killed overnight when separatist rebels tried to disrupt the polls.