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Friday, November 05, 2004
Arroyo congratulates, mends ties with Bush
SYDNEY, Australia -- American allies in Asia hailed the reelection of US President George W. Bush as a victory for the global war on terror and hoped his second term would help defuse nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Others in the region feared a second Bush term could lead to more turmoil and worsen tension between Muslims and the West.
Any lingering doubts over whether Bush would be back for four more years were swept away overnight while most of the Asia-Pacific region slept, with Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry conceding defeat.
"It's a victory for the anti-terrorism cause," Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch US ally and friend of Bush, said yesterday. "This is a strong reaffirmation of his leadership of the United States in its fight against world terrorism."
President Arroyo, who embraced the US-led war on terror, said she was confident the reelected president will "unite America in defending the ramparts of freedom, collective security and the rule of law everywhere."
Cold shoulder
She also praised Sen. John Kerry "for a fight well fought" and called the closely contested US election "the apex of democracy."
Arroyo was among Bush's closest Asian allies until July, when she decided to withdraw a small Philippine contingent from Iraq early to save the life of kidnapped Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.
The pullout was strongly criticized by Washington and other allies, but won praise back home. About eight million Filipinos work abroad.
Arroyo relayed her congratulations through US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, who met her at the presidential palace.
She also sent a congratulatory letter to the US president, in which she said: "Your reelection comes at an important juncture when American leadership and international solidarity must be put at the service of securing greater global peace, security and prosperity."
Bush's victory was unwelcome news to Filipino left-wing activists.
Two dozen of them trooped to the US Embassy to denounce his "fresh mandate to wage an all-out war worldwide."
Muslim caution
They also held posters saying, "No to another term of terror" and "George W. Bush, world's most wanted terrorist."
Pakistan, another US anti-terror ally, also welcomed the reelection but Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said he hoped the world's Muslims, including Palestinians and Kashmiris, would fare better under Bush's second term policies.
"Muslims were hurt by some of his policies (in his first term), but I hope he will take them along in his upcoming term," he said.
Shopkeeper Harun Abdul Mahmud, 52, said in Malaysia he was "very disappointed with the Americans for choosing Bush."
"I fear he will take actions that could cause the relationship between Muslims and the West to worsen. This will make the world a more dangerous place," he said.
Watching China
Stock markets in Japan, New Zealand and Australia rose yesterday, as did their currencies against the U.S. dollar, which slipped on fears that Bush will do little to wind back the American budget deficit.
Chinese President Hu Jintao said Beijing looked forward to promoting "constructive cooperative relations" with Washington, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
China opposed the war in Iraq and Bush was unpopular there. But China-US relations have been mostly smooth over the past few years as economic and trade ties have expanded.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, which has been hit by a string of deadly terror attacks in recent years, pledged to work closely with Bush.
"As countries that have fallen victims to terrorism, the United States and Indonesia are only too painfully aware of what is at stake," foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said.
More jobs?
But militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who is on trial accused of heading the al-Qaida-linked terror group blamed bombings that have killed more than 200 people, called Bush's reelection a disaster.
"God willing his victory will be a disaster for the United States," Bashir told reporters as he arrived in court. "This result is a disaster because Bush continues to commit many crimes."
In India, Bush's victory was seen as a win for companies involved in the multibillion-dollar outsourcing industry.
"The vision of their party has always been that they are in favor of outsourcing," said Sudip Banerjee, president of Enterprise Solutions division in Indian technology giant Wipro Ltd. (AP)
(November 5, 2004 issue)
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Arabic TV says Pinoy hostage in Iraq freed