Joining Afghan peace mission imperative for Indonesia: Susilo<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As the country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia
\nshould join an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan,
\nCoordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono said in the North Sumatran capital of Medan on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Talking to reporters after meeting with Aceh Nanggroe
\nDarussalam officials here, Susilo said that, based on the
\nresponsibilities of being part of the world community, we should
\naccept a request to join an international peacekeeping force in
\nAfghanistan as a humanitarian appeal, as long as it did not harm
\nour national interests.<\/p>\n
\"And as long as the peacekeeping force is under the
\ncoordination of the United Nations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia will do nothing unless we have received the United
\nNations' request, and unless we study the request very carefully
\nbeforehand,\" he reiterated.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to receive an official UN request, despite our
\nacknowledgement that the UN is still preparing things for a
\nmultinational peacekeeping force in Afghanistan following the
\nfall of the capital of Kabul into the hands of the opposing
\nNorthern Alliance fighters.<\/p>\n
\"What has happened in Afghanistan is not just a matter of
\nterrorism, but also the long suffering of the Afghans who have
\nbeen trapped in one conflict after another,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately in Jakarta, top legislator Aisyah Aminy urged the
\ngovernment not to join an international peacekeeping force even
\nif the request had come from the UN, saying that Indonesia needed
\nall its available forces to deal with domestic problems.<\/p>\n
She warned that Indonesia could be dragged into the messy
\nAfghan war if it took part in a UN peacekeeping operation.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have to send our troops there because our domestic
\nproblems require more intense attention from the Indonesian
\nMilitary and the National Police,\" Aisyah of the Muslim United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
\"We're still facing a threat of disintegration,\" she said,
\nreferring to conflicts in Aceh, Irian Jaya and other hot spots.<\/p>\n
The death of Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last
\nweek had further heightened these fears, she added.<\/p>\n
Aisyah said the involvement of the United States had turned
\nthe Afghan conflict into an international war. If Indonesia were
\nto send its troops there, it could be dragged into the war, she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The circumstances were different from those surrounding the
\npeacekeeping operations in the Philippines in the 1990s, in which
\nIndonesia took part, she recalled, stressing that in the
\nPhilippines it was essentially a local war.<\/p>\n
Aisyah said the government should first consult with the House
\nof Representatives before deciding on Indonesia's participation
\nin a peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Four factions in the House, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar and the Crescent Star Party
\n(PBB), as well as the PPP, had earlier cautioned the government
\nover the peacekeeping mission.<\/p>\n
Susilo commented in Medan on Sunday that all criticism and
\nwarnings were worthy of input to the government. \"Any citizen
\nmust put domestic concerns as the top priority. Therefore, let's
\nnot be engaged in polemics.\"<\/p>",
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