LEGISLATOR HOPES WITH OBAMA'S VICTORY RI-US DEFENCE COOPERATION TO INCREASE

Jakarta, Nov 5 (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission I which deals with defense affairs, Yusron Ihza Mahendra hopes that Barack Obama's victory in the United States presidential election will lead to increased defense cooperation between Indonesia and the United States.
"We hope that with the victory of Barack Obama, economic and defense cooperation between Indonesia and the United States will be further increased," Mahendra said through a cellular phone call from Switzerland on Wednesday.
Mahendra who was attending an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Switzerland said he hoped Obama's victory would lead to the stepping up of cooperation in the defense field, including the training of Indonesian soldiers through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.
In order to build Indonesia's defense system, Mahendra hoped that Indonesia and the United States would cooperate in the development of defense industry soon.
He said Obama who once lived in Indonesia was expected to be able to look at Indonesia correctly and without bias.
"We hope Obama will also have the same view over other third world countries in general. In short, we hope his victory will put an end to the long-standing US tradition of preferring a White, Anglosaxon and Protestant (WASP) President," he said.
"We hope that Obama's victory will mark a new era in the relations between Indonesia and the United States, particularly in the defense and economic fields.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Democrat Party hopes that it will win the majority of the votes in the 2009 legislative elections following the victory of Barack Obama of the Democratic Party in the United States presidential election, party executive Anas Urbaningrum said.
"We hope that the Indonesian Democrat Party will emulate the US Democratic Party's victory today, come the 2009 elections," Urbaningrum said.
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