U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has praised Indonesia for its democratic development and its leadership role in Southeast Asia.
She made the comments in a speech today to an international relations forum in Jakarta, before wrapping up her two day visit to Indonesia.
Rice commended Indonesia on becoming a young democracy after the autocratic rule of former president Suharto.
The secretary of state also thanked Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for visiting Burma earlier this month to
try to persuade its military rulers to follow Indonesia's democratic example. Rice said the U.S. applauds Indonesia and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for supporting what she called the "just aspirations" of the Burmese
people.
But Rice urged Indonesia to make greater efforts to reform its armed forces. Human rights groups accuse the Indonesian military of abusing people's rights.
Rice later left Jakarta for Australia, where she will hold regional security talks with her Australian and Japanese counterparts.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
