Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed Barack Obama on Friday for an election victory he said inspired the Southeast Asian nation where the president-elect spent four years as a youth.
“He spoke our language, knew our culture, ate our food, played with Indonesian friends from various ethnic backgrounds and through all this he experienced the inner soul of Indonesia,” Yudhoyono said in a speech in Washington.
Students at Besuki Elementary School, Obama’s old school in Jakarta, danced euphorically while teachers wept at news of his election victory, said the Indonesian president.
Yudhoyono told his U.S.-Indonesia Society audience he came to Washington carrying an album of old photos of Obama and his assembled by childhood friends to give to the president-elect.
“There is no better story, no better example, of the virtue of people-to-people connections than the powerful impact of Barack Obama’s election to today’s Indonesians,” he said.
REUTERS/Stringer (Indonesian students dispaly pictures of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama)
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6 comments so far
For an american president to be cherished already by the most populous muslim nation in the world augurs pretty well for the future of US-Islamic relation. Obama’s diverse background will ensure that he will be far more perceptive and understanding than his predecessor towards muslim nations and that bodes well for peace in the world.
- Posted by ftavoIt is good for Indonesians to be proud of his staying at Indonesia for four years.
But I am skeptic about the Muslim fanatics like the one commented above. Those unreasonable creatures (not human beings) divide human beings in the name of religion as Muslims, Christians and Buddhists.
Obama’s election to US president was due to his wide acceptance as a human being, not as a Muslim and he holds that value high. Not because of the other way the silly insects of fanaticism thinks.
- Posted by JayThe Obama’ victory means a lot not for African people but all folks around the globe.
- Posted by DeogratiasThe international appreciation of Barack was an “open secret” among those many of us who worked so hard during the campaign as volunteers. Our focus was direct to the voters on the issues. We were constantly instructed to avoid personal attacks and to discuss the many points published on the issues. We did not discuss race - it was not pertinent to the election.
- Posted by dickhcoloWe did know that the non-Anglo face and the “funny” (to most Americans) name, Barack Hussein Obama, would change the view of The United States of America the moment his election was announced. We truly are a polyglot country around 40% non “white” and the “whites” are from many different ethnic groups. While predominantly Christian, we have had a very wide diversity of religions for fifty years or more.
Americans as well as the rest of have high expectations for the Obama administration. We are hopeful that we well experience less of the dehumanization like that exhibited in Jay’s comment on the 16th. When one dehumanizes a group they dehumanize themselves in the act.
- Posted by LorenThis article represents how our Preseident Elect Barack Obama can bring the world together. To have other nations celebrate your victory in your own country is something to cherish.Hopefully, people in the U.S. can also see that we have a man with a huge diverse cultural background and that he can connect with this country and every aspect. I am proud to say that this country has changed enough to let a man that had a white mother and a Kenyan father and has the middle name Hussein become our leader.
- Posted by Bethany