International criticism keeps RI diplomats on their toes<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The international arena was not too kind to
\nIndonesia in 1996. More than previous years, it was the target of
\nincreasing criticism from abroad.<\/p>\n
Aside from the incessant issue of East Timor, international
\ncensure ran the gamut from human rights violations, suppression
\nof political freedom to indigenous rights in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
As the country's first line of defense, the Ministry of
\nForeign Affairs has had its hands full.<\/p>\n
While admirable in light of the overwhelming circumstances,
\nits performance has often been reactionary and its responses less
\nthan adequate to the barrage of criticisms from foreign media,
\ninterest groups and governments.<\/p>\n
As if an indication of things to come, January began badly for
\nIndonesia when only after a week into the year, separatist rebels
\nin Irian Jaya kidnapped several young scientists, including six
\nEuropeans, who were conducting research.<\/p>\n
While abductions there are common, the kidnapping of
\nforeigners quickly brought international attention to the
\nseparatist demands of the kidnappers.<\/p>\n
It seemed some foreign governments forgot that Irian Jaya has
\nbeen an integral part of the country since a 1969 plebiscite
\nunder the supervision of the United Nations, later endorsed by UN
\nResolution 2504 (XXIV).<\/p>\n
European Parliament President Klaus Hansch sent a letter
\ninviting the separatist leaders to send a delegation and address
\nthe European Parliament on human rights, cultural identity and
\nenvironmental concerns in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas strongly
\ncondemned the European response, describing it as \"a blatant act
\nof interference in the internal affairs of Indonesia\".<\/p>\n
Things did not stop there as the Irish parliament soon after
\nadopted a resolution on Irian Jaya which expressed deep concern
\nthat the 1969 \"Act of Free Choice\" was not a genuine expression
\nof self-determination.<\/p>\n
While the crisis ended with all foreign hostages freed, the
\ndanger of other separatist movements further tarnishing
\nIndonesia's image loomed ominously.<\/p>\n
International relations expert Juwono Sudarsono warned that
\nmethods used by separatist groups were highly effective in
\ngaining the international spotlight.<\/p>\n
\"I think we have to get used to it because in the era of
\ninformation globalization, any local claim can be brought before
\ninternational opinion,\" said Juwono, who is vice governor of the
\nNational Resilience Institute.<\/p>\n
Bombardment<\/p>\n
Further reproach came as the government was condemned for its
\nalleged involvement in helping to oust Indonesian Democratic
\nParty chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Such was the bombardment of attention, that even during press
\nbriefings at the ministerial meeting of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) here in July, Alatas, who really
\nhad nothing whatsoever to do with the turmoil, was several times
\nfaced with hard questions posed by international journalists.<\/p>\n
There seemed to be no moment of solace, as two days after the
\nASEAN meeting the infamous July 27th incident and the ensuing
\nriots occurred.<\/p>\n
Jakarta was strongly criticized for its handling of the
\naffair.<\/p>\n
White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta revealed that
\nWashington had protested the crackdown on Megawati's supporters,
\nwhile the deputy head of mission at the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta,
\nDick Den Haas, speaking as a European Union representative,
\nexpressed concern to the government over human rights issues
\nrelating to those detained in the riots.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's charge d'affaires in London was also contacted by
\nthe British foreign office over the issue.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian foreign ministry is often left with a big
\nheadache in having to defend these domestic issues which it
\nreally has no control over.<\/p>\n
International relations observer Jusuf Wanandi warned that in
\nthis era of globalization, domestic politics has to take into
\naccount foreign factors. \"A balance must be struck in
\nimplementing domestic politics with international interests.\"<\/p>\n
A constant bombardment of criticism of Indonesia left the
\nforeign ministry on the defensive, and understandably little time
\nto pursue its own policies.<\/p>\n
ASEAN<\/p>\n
In areas where the foreign ministry seems to have full
\ncontrol, it continues to remain rather indifferent.<\/p>\n
Jakarta and other ASEAN members have brushed aside
\ninternational concerns on Myanmar's record on human rights and
\nsuppression of prodemocracy movements.<\/p>\n
Yangon is very likely to be admitted next year into the
\nregional grouping which currently comprises Brunei, Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
ASEAN has accepted Yangon with open arms and pursued a policy
\nof constructive engagement. Even though this policy has shown
\nmarginal results, analysts have lambasted ASEAN's ability to turn
\na blind eye to the political suppression.<\/p>\n
Knowing he already had the backing of ASEAN behind him,
\nMyanmar foreign minister Ohn Gyaw while in Jakarta in July, when
\nasked, replied confidently that Yangon's definition of human
\nrights consisted merely of food, shelter and clothing.<\/p>\n
When questioned on Myanmar's membership, Alatas argued that
\npolitics and democratization has never been a prerequisite for
\nadmission in any international organization.<\/p>\n
International affairs expert Soedjati Djiwandono, when asked
\nwhether Jakarta should take a harder line with Yangon, bluntly
\nreplied: \"Who are we to criticize them?\"<\/p>\n
Consistency seems to be the catchword in Indonesian foreign
\npolicy, and Jakarta's commitment to ASEAN as one of the
\ncornerstones of its foreign policy was evident as it hosted the
\nASEAN ministerial meeting and an informal summit.<\/p>\n
The three decade old spirit of ASEAN prevailed as Indonesia
\nand Malaysia agreed to submit the dispute over Sipadan and
\nLigitan islands to the International Court of Justice in The
\nHague.<\/p>\n
If it were between two other countries outside ASEAN, such an
\nemotional dispute would erupt into tension. The ASEAN spirit
\nhelped quell such feelings between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN ministerial meeting here in July was an important
\nevent since it was proceeded by a meeting of the ASEAN Regional
\nForum (ARF) and the Post Ministerial Conference.<\/p>\n
The ARF, a political security forum of 18 countries, manifests
\nASEAN's long-term desire to establish a regional mechanism for
\nmaintaining peace and security in the region. It was also
\nimportant because it brought together high level delegations from
\nthe U.S. and the European Union face-to-face with Myanmar.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, it did not result in a significant breakthrough
\nor in a better understanding of each other in areas concerning
\nsocial issues.<\/p>\n
In fact, during the informal summit on Nov. 30, ASEAN leaders
\nstrongly warned the European Union against bringing up
\n\"extraneous issues\", such as those relating to human rights and
\nEast Timor, in the cooperation framework of the two groupings.<\/p>\n
High-level meetings between Asia and western countries were
\nheld several times this year. The biggest one was the Asia-Europe
\nMeeting in Bangkok in March. To Asia's insistence, talks focused
\non economic cooperation, and political issues were left on the
\nfringes mainly for media consumption.<\/p>\n
There was also the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders
\nmeeting in Manila in November. Again, here the priority was
\nnonpolitical areas.<\/p>\n
While these meeting reflect the growing importance of
\nIndonesia and other ASEAN states vis-a-vis major world powers,
\nthe true depth of their influence is still debatable considering
\nthe EU's defiance to stay away from extraneous issues.<\/p>\n
ASEAN's year-old nuclear weapons free zone treaty also wanes
\nas nuclear powers continue to refuse to sign the protocol of the
\ntreaty. This forced ASEAN's working group, headed by Indonesia,
\nto engage in wordplay in the treaty's protocol to satisfy the
\ndemands of the nuclear states.<\/p>\n
Australia<\/p>\n
Wordplay is a major part of diplomacy and this was evident
\nwhen Australian Prime Minister John Howard arrived in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Howard's predecessor Paul Keating had a very close
\nrelationship with Soeharto and had no qualms about Indonesia
\nbeing the most important country to Australia. Many people
\nwondered whether Howard's ascendancy would signify a weakening of
\nrelations.<\/p>\n
Relations have not soured though, and both Howard and his
\nforeign minister Alexander Downer made it a point to come to
\nIndonesia on their first overseas trip. No longer the most
\nimportant, they were careful in describing Indonesia as \"of
\nfundamental importance\" to Australia.<\/p>\n
A rather testy episode soon erupted when Canberra nominated
\nMiles Kupa as ambassador to Indonesia. Jakarta strongly
\nquestioned the choice since Kupa was a known critic of Soeharto.
\nThe nomination was promptly withdrawn and Canberra admitted it
\nhad bungled the selection.<\/p>\n
On relations with other countries Indonesia remained largely
\nconsistent.<\/p>\n
Despite growing economic ties with Taiwan, Jakarta maintained
\nits \"one China\" policy. It remained adamant on this even though
\nTaiwan's foreign minister John Chang visited in September.<\/p>\n
\"We remain consistent in our policy of recognizing only the
\nPeople's Republic of China and its government ... Mr. John Chang
\nwas here yesterday in his individual capacity on a private
\nvisit,\" Alatas said a day after the visit.<\/p>\n
Toward Israel, Indonesia again remained steadfast in its
\nposition of refusing to establish diplomatic relations. This
\nstance was reiterated when Indonesia hosted the Organization of
\nIslamic Conference a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n
As a nation made up of over 80 percent Moslems, Indonesia has
\npaid great attention to the Organization of Islamic Conference,
\ndespite the fact that as an organization it has remained for the
\nmost part toothless in the international arena.<\/p>\n
The brightest accomplishment in Indonesian foreign policy this
\nyear has to be the successful brokerage of the Moro peace
\nagreement in the Philippines. Several years in the making, it was
\ninitialed here in August and formally signed in September.<\/p>\n
The significance of this achievement should not be
\nunderestimated as Indonesia's finest diplomats were able to bring
\nan end to 25 years of civil war.<\/p>\n
The most quiet exit however was Indonesia's end of its two-
\nyear tenure in the United Nations Security Council. Much was made
\nwhen Indonesia was voted into the council, unfortunately little
\nhas been heard since.<\/p>\n
International relations researcher Kusnanto Anggoro of the
\nCentre for Strategic and International Studies described
\nIndonesia's term as run-of-the-mill. \"I didn't see it fight for
\nany specific issues,\" he candidly remarked.<\/p>\n
1997<\/p>\n
So what were the lessons in 1996?<\/p>\n
Almost everyone, from analysts, legislators to Alatas himself
\nhave repeatedly stressed the need to improve the quality of
\ndiplomats.<\/p>\n
Everyone of Indonesia's envoys must be a spokesperson eloquent
\nenough to respond to international criticism from abroad.<\/p>\n
\"We're not anticipative enough and are only responsive,\"
\nKusnanto said. Nevertheless he admitted that \"implementing a
\nproactive foreign policy is not easy\", pointing to the need for
\ngood human resources and more importantly, strong
\ninterdepartmental coordination.<\/p>\n
It seems the trend set in 1996 will continue into 1997.<\/p>\n
Foreign policy will increasingly be tugged by factional
\ntensions at the local, national, regional and international
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
At the local level there are demands for democratization,
\nlabor rights and separatism; the national level will be
\nhighlighted by the different interests of the foreign policy-
\nmaking establishment which in Indonesia comprises the military,
\nthe state secretary's office and the foreign ministry; at the
\nregional level there is the network of APEC, ASEAN and the WTO
\nwhich must be pursued; and at the international level there is a
\nneed to heed global flows which include environmental issues to
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
So even if Indonesia does not advocate to be as high profile
\nin foreign policy as previous years, the local, regional and
\ninternational factors will likely cast the spotlight on Indonesia
\nin 1997 anyway.<\/p>",
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