Alatas, 70 and still going strong<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When former foreign minister Ali Alatas celebrates his 70th
\nbirthday on Monday, it will be a good moment to reflect on his
\nachievements and failures as a diplomat for about 45 years up
\nuntil 1999.<\/p>\n
There is a long list of his successes as a foreign minister
\nfor more than 11 years from 1988, including his leading role in
\nending the prolonged political crisis in Cambodia. After three
\nyears of presiding over exhausting negotiations among the warring
\nfactions, peace slowly returned to Cambodia after the Paris
\nConference in October 1991.<\/p>\n
Five years later, the Philippine government and Muslim rebel
\nNur Misuari from the Moro Nationalist Liberation Front (MNLF)
\nreached a peace agreement. Alatas again played a crucial role
\nduring the negotiations.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post at his office, Makarim &
\nTaira S law firm on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, Alatas talked
\nabout his experience as a diplomat. He openly conceded the tragic
\nand bloody break away of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999 as the
\nmost bitter event of his career.<\/p>\n
It was even more bitter because B.J. Habibie, who replaced
\nSoeharto in May 1998, did not consult Alatas, as his foreign
\nminister, at all when he suddenly proposed the referendum for
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
\"My regret is not about East Timor's separation from us. That
\nis a matter of fate. But it could have been done in a peaceful
\nmanner,\" said Alatas.<\/p>\n
Alatas often described the problem of East Timor \"like a
\npebble in the shoe\" for Indonesia. He laughed when told that it
\nwas not just a pebble, but a bomb for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Alatas was deeply involved in the East Timor issue. He was
\nalways very confident that East Timor would remain a part of
\nIndonesia. Only when the Santa Cruz massacre erupted on Nov. 12,
\n1991, did he start to worry about the fate of the tiny province.<\/p>\n
In 1994, he said Soeharto flatly turned down his proposal to
\ngive special autonomy to East Timor. He recalled how Soeharto let
\nhim finish talking about his proposal during a meeting, but then
\nsaid,\"No,\" to him.<\/p>\n
Alatas, born in Jakarta on Nov. 4, 1932, praised several
\npeople who assisted him during his career at the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs.<\/p>\n
However, although he worked for 10 years as Soeharto's foreign
\nminister, for Ali Alatas, former foreign minister and vice
\npresident the late Adam Malik, was likely the most influential
\nfigure in his career as a diplomat. Alatas illustrated his
\nrespect for Soeharto when asked about the former president, who
\nhe served as foreign minister for 10 years until his fall in May
\n1988, but he was more passionate when talking about Adam Malik.<\/p>\n
Alatas disclosed several funny stories about Adam Malik, for
\nwhom Alatas worked as secretary when Adam was the foreign
\nminister from 1975 to 1976. Also when he served Adam as secretary
\nwhen the latter was vice president from 1978 to 1982.<\/p>\n
Bored because he had to repeat similar statements about
\nIndonesia to his guests, Adam often asked Ali to repeat his
\nprevious statements in English, although what he said in Bahasa
\nIndonesia was completely different from what Ali had to pretend
\nto translate.<\/p>\n
\"I had to pretend to translate what he was saying. Actually I
\njust repeated his previous remarks, and of course I could not
\ntranslate what he really said because it might upset the guests.
\nI just pretended to be busy,\" Alatas recalled in a conversation
\nwith The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
However one day, Adam and Ali had an embarrassing moment
\nduring a meeting with ambassadors from the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. As usual, Adam asked
\nAli to repeat his previous remarks, and laughed when Ali reminded
\nhim that the Malaysian ambassador understood what he said.<\/p>\n
\"So you understood what I said,\" Adam asked the ambassador
\nafter realizing his mistake.<\/p>\n
When asked about any funny experiences with Soeharto, Adam
\nreplied, \"It was not often funny with him.\" But then quickly
\nadded that Soeharto gave him the freedom to direct Indonesia's
\nforeign diplomacy because Soeharto was not interested in the
\ndetails of diplomacy.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, of course, was happy with his chief diplomat because
\nAlatas helped him realize his dream of appearing to be a leading
\nworld leader. In 1992, Soeharto chaired the Non Aligned Movement
\n(NAM) summit in Jakarta. Two years later he hosted the second
\nAsia Pacific Economic Summit (APEC) summit in Bogor, West Java.<\/p>\n
In 1992, Soeharto portrayed himself as the spokesman of
\ndeveloping countries. Alatas then held a press conference to
\nreveal the results of his negotiations with industrialized
\ncountries and major donors. He expressed his disappointment in
\nlength, as he had failed to persuade them to write off or reduce
\ntheir loans to the least developed nations in Africa.<\/p>\n
\"You know what they replied to our proposal?\" Alatas asked the
\njournalists tersely.<\/p>\n
\"Enak di lu kagak enak di gue (It is only good for you but not
\ngood for us,\" a reporter answered, imitating a Betawi joke.<\/p>\n
Alatas was reportedly tipped to become United Nations
\nsecretary-general in the early 1990s, but his boss Soeharto was
\napparently not interested in Alatas holding the job.<\/p>\n
\"No, I was never formally nominated for that position. And I
\nnever discussed it with Pak Harto,\" Alatas played down the
\nreport.<\/p>\n
Alatas, who is of Arab descent, retired as a diplomat in
\nOctober 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the country's fourth
\npresident replacing Habibie. When Megawati replaced Abdurrahman
\nlast year, she asked Alatas to be his advisor on foreign affairs.<\/p>\n
Now, Alatas works with the Makarim & Taira S law firm advising
\nforeign executives who want to know more about Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He enjoys his days with his wife Anisa and their three
\ndaughters, who have given them five grandchildren.<\/p>\n
\"Attending seminars is also one of my favorite activities,\"
\nsaid Alatas.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alatas-70-and-still-going-strong-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}