Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia’s founding leader, Sukarno. She became the country’s fifth president in July 2001 after the national assembly dismissed President Abdurrahman Wahid and elected Megawati—then the sitting vice president—in a unanimous vote. Shortly after she became president, Megawati traveled through Southeast Asia on a whirlwind tour, introducing herself to top regional leaders.

Megawati, 55, is the third president to serve Indonesia—the world’s fourth most populous nation—since 1998, when long-time leader Suharto was ousted from power.

During the interview, the president sat below a large portrait of herself and near a portrait of her father. Photos of herself with US President George W Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan—as well as a large picture of a young Megawati with her father—were displayed around the room. Megawati spoke Bahasa during the interview. The following is an edited version of her remarks.

Bernard Krisher and Matt Reed: Do you think that Indonesia is doing enough to fight terrorism, al-Qaida and all of its affiliates? Will Indonesia revise its approach to this problem in the aftermath of the Bali attack?

President Megawati: I told APEC leaders last week that terrorism can take place anywhere, anytime and can be committed by anyone. We made a declaration against terrorism at the meeting, just as Asean foreign ministers did a few months ago in Brunei, when Asean agreed to consolidate its efforts to work against terrorism.

Last year, after the Sept 11 attacks, I told President Bush that even before Sept 11, Indonesia experienced terrorism attacks. Even now, before anyone fully knew what had actually happened in Bali, there was another attack in Moscow at the theater. So we cannot say that terrorism cannot happen anywhere. It doesn’t really relate to a particular religion, race or even a country. It isn’t just important for Asean countries, but for all countries, to work together against terrorism.

Q: Is Bali safe now?

A: Yes. Please go to visit Bali.

Q: Do you see a threat to democracy in Indonesia because of the increased security concerns over terrorism? For example, could human rights be restricted and freedom of the press be infringed in the name of assuring greater security?

A: We are in a transition in Indonesia and working to find the best way to apply a free press in the new Indonesia.

It is different in the East than it is in the West. Here in Indonesia, you cannot find children who express hard words against their parents. Our society is not individualistic in nature. Rather, we uphold the principle of the family. We are the society that practices “gotong-royong.” We always wish to help each other.

Q: Is there a feeling in Asia that the Western countries are still trying to impose their values and infringing on traditional cultures? Are Asian values different than Western values?

A: Yes, there is a difference, but we cannot just draw a line or close the door to each other.

Q: What can the richer, more developed countries of Asean do to help the newer, less developed members, such as Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia?

A: This is exactly what I set out to work on when I assumed the presidency. When I made my first Asean trip, I talked to every leader about the importance of consolidating our efforts to assist the new members of Asean so that they could catch up to the level of development of the other Asean countries. Any assistance provided by the older members should be in accordance with the interests and the level of development of the newer Asean countries. We should cooperate in agriculture, information and telecommunications, and most importantly, human resources development. In Indonesia, there has been a shift in our development policy. Now, we have made it a priority to further generate small and medium enterprises and cooperatives.

Q: Do you envision that, in the future, Asean could evolve into another European Union, with a common currency and relaxed immigration rules. Could the EU be considered as a model for Asean?

A: There are some similarities and some differences. We come from different cultures, for one. In Asean, every country has to respect the sovereignty of other members. And, of course, the EU has one single market, and every country has to adjust itself to this.

Q: But do you think there are some cases in Asean, in which one nation may be harming its own people, when intervention by other countries could be justified?

A: Of course, we are obliged to act to stop violence. But in order to do so we have to come to an agreement. But that doesn’t mean we are interfering in another country’s affairs. As a member of the international community, we want to uphold the international principles as cited in the charter of the UN. We would have to respect the individual sovereignty of each member of the UN.

Q: Do you feel that it will be very difficult for Indonesia and Southeast Asia to compete economically against China with its low prices and costs?

A: Indonesia and China have a very long history of good relations, although sometimes it has been not so good. In general, we are competitive with China in trade. But the most important thing for us is how every country follows trade regulations, particularly those agreed upon inside the World Trade Organization.

Q: From the Indonesian experience, what is the reason for the continued state of poverty? What is the best way to fight poverty?

A: We should not look at this issue in a piecemeal way. The Asian financial crisis in 1997, for example, was a result of other developments in the global economy. This is one of the important issues that we talked about in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August at the UN sustainable development conference.

Q: You are one of the women leaders of Asean, along with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. How do you think that the role of women is progressing in Asia?

A: I am grateful to be the daughter of our founding father. We can see that it was established in our constitution to provide equal status to all citizens. Everyone here has equal opportunity. But cultural background and traditions seem to give women less opportunity.

It is my objective to employ what is stated in the constitution. I have appointed a minister of women empowerment and the main objective of the government is to let women know that they have equal opportunity.