Mega's absence from ASEM summit questioned<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Staff Writer, Jakarta,
\nkorpur@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided not to attend a key
\nmultilateral summit this week, following her much-criticized
\nfrequent overseas trips. But she also plans to attend three
\ndifferent multilateral summits next month. Perhaps only the
\nPresident can explain the logic of this decision.<\/p>\n
The President skipped the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) this week
\nin Copenhagen, Denmark, apparently because she is irritated at
\nthe criticism of her recent trip to Africa and Europe. Was she
\nsulking?<\/p>\n
She asked her daughter, Puan Maharani, to attend a six-hour
\nmeeting at the palace on Tuesday, held to evaluate her previous
\nvisit to Africa and Europe. The meeting was attended by Ministry
\nof Foreign Affairs officials and top palace officials, such as
\npresidential secretary Kemal Munawar and military secretary Maj.
\nGen. Tb. Hasanuddin.<\/p>\n
\"We want to make improvements to the President's future
\ntrips,\" one of Megawati's aides told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday,
\nwhen asked about the meeting.<\/p>\n
The President sent Coordinating Minister for the Economy
\nDorodjatun Kuntjoro-jakti as her personal envoy, against
\ndiplomatic tradition that the President is better represented by
\nthe Vice President at such a high-level multilateral summit if
\nthe former cannot be present.<\/p>\n
Megawati should realize that by attending the Copenhagen
\nsummit, she could also have met bilaterally with European and
\nAsian leaders, thereby saving both money and time on visits to EU
\ncapitals. The EU is too important to be ignored, and the EU
\nsummit is much more important than her recent bilateral visits to
\nAlgeria, Hungary, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia and Egypt.<\/p>\n
Despite her refusal to go to Denmark, the President plans to
\nattend next month's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
\nsummit in Mexico and the summit of the Group of 15 developing
\nnations (G-15) in Venezuela. She is also slated to be present
\nlater at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
\nformal summit in Cambodia.<\/p>\n
How can the government explain that these three summits,
\nespecially the Venezuela meeting, are of more strategic
\nimportance to Indonesia than the ASEM summit? Her presence in
\nCambodia should be regarded as mandatory, but the Vice President
\ncould have represented her at the two other summits. APEC has, in
\npractical terms, lost its influence after the economic crisis hit
\nseveral Asian countries in 1997. Essentially, G-15 is no better
\nthan APEC.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda defended his
\nboss's decision at a hearing with Commission I of the House of
\nRepresentatives on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I appreciate the dilemma faced by the President: If she
\ntravels abroad she is criticized and if she does not travel she
\nis also criticized,\" said Hassan, adding, without elaboration,
\nthat Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was also absent
\nfrom the Copenhagen summit.<\/p>\n
According to the minister, the President \"is sensitive in
\nlistening to various comments about her foreign trip, including
\nthose from Commission I.\"<\/p>\n
It would have been much more productive if Hassan could have
\nexplained the concrete results of the President's recent trip. It
\nseemed appropriate for the President to attend the Earth Summit
\nin Johannesburg, South Africa: Indonesia hosted the pre-summit
\nmeeting in Bali. But what concrete results were obtained from her
\nvisits to Algeria, Croatia, Hungary and even Egypt?<\/p>\n
Explanations that the above trips are beneficial in the long
\nrun are no longer acceptable. In her first year in office the
\nPresident visited 27 countries, bringing to mind another frequent
\ntraveler, her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid. The President can
\ntravel across the world in an attempt to attract investment, but
\nit is doubtful that anyone will wish to invest as long as
\nIndonesia's image abroad remains offputting to the international
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
In her six-point working program for the Cabinet last year,
\nMegawati cited \"restoration of Indonesia's international
\ncredibility and regaining international confidence\" as her chief
\ndiplomatic goals.<\/p>\n
Chief diplomat Hassan Wirayuda is, no doubt, excellent in his
\njob. His mentor, former foreign minister Ali Alatas, is very
\nconfident of Hassan's diplomatic skills. But nowadays, the
\nforeign ministry can no longer hide behind the President and the
\ncountry's image abroad is totally different to what it was during
\nthe country's economic boom in the 1980s and early 1990s. At that
\ntime Indonesia often acted as a mediator to resolve other
\ncountries' problems, as in the Philippines and Cambodia. But now,
\nit is our turn to cry for international support.<\/p>\n
Now the ministry is closely, if not overzealously, watched by
\nthe House of Representatives. Last week, citing its poor
\nperformance, members of Commission I even threatened to cut the
\nministry's budget. The minister may expect more difficult times
\nahead, with the House in the crucial role of trying to maintain
\nharmonious cooperation with legislators.<\/p>\n
Dabbling in foreign affairs is tempting to leaders of many
\ncountries, not just Indonesian presidents: Diplomatic
\nachievements can often compensate for failures in the economy or
\ndomestic politics. I've sharpened up the remainder of this
\nparagraph: Two much-cited examples are the current antics of U.S.
\npresident George W. Bush with regard to Iraq, and the electoral
\ndefeat of Bush Sr. in his attempt to remain in the White House
\nfor a second term, despite his 1991 victory in the Gulf war, due
\nto perceived failures in the U.S. economy.<\/p>\n
Megawati's absence from the ASEM summit is a big mistake,
\nespecially if it is only an emotional reaction to her critics. If
\nshe were serious, might she consider skipping the APEC and G-15
\nsummits?<\/p>\n
Her foreign trips would be very beneficial for the country if
\nshe could demonstrate concrete and useful results in the short
\nterm, not just the long term. But it is hard to convince people,
\nas visits to tourist attractions filled much of her itinerary.
\nAnd how should people interpret the need for her frequent
\nstopovers in Singapore?<\/p>\n
Minister Hassan cannot act alone without the help of other
\nCabinet members -- and better awareness from the President
\nherself.<\/p>",
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