Megawati says 'no' to war<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri made her first address on the
\nIraq crisis when she spoke before the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
\nsummit which opened on Monday, but she fell short of detailing
\ninitiatives to prevent war.<\/p>\n
Representing the world's most populous Muslim country,
\nMegawati simply joined the bandwagon of worldwide opposition to
\nany unilateral action by the United States and that Iraq must
\ncomply with United Nations' resolutions.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia is firm in its rejection of war as a solution,"
\nMegawati told the summit.<\/p>\n
She even refrained from mentioning the U.S., referring to it
\nas a "powerful country", which she said had no right to act
\nunilaterally against the other.<\/p>\n
As the country with the largest Muslim population, Indonesia
\nhas been intensively lobbied by Washington and its allies seeking
\nJakarta's understanding of any possible attack.<\/p>\n
Unlike her move to directly urge North Korea to continue
\ndialogue with South Korea and the U.S. to settle the nuclear
\ncrisis on the Korean peninsula, Megawati gave no signs of taking
\na more active role on Iraq by approaching either Baghdad or
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
But Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa
\nsaid the government had also tried to play a leading role on the
\nIraq issue, saying that Megawati's special envoy and interfaith
\ngroup had lobbied many parties on the issue.<\/p>\n
"I do not see any differences in our actions regarding the
\nIraq and Korea issues, as the President's special envoys have
\ngone to many countries to lobby many parties regarding both
\nmatters," Marty said.<\/p>\n
"We'd rather prove our role by action than by statement."<\/p>\n
A group of interfaith leaders are in Europe to convey the
\nIndonesian people's united stance against war.<\/p>\n
In her speech, Megawati said the case of Iraq was a reflection
\nof the failure of multilateral systems in facing the intention of
\nstrong countries, some saying with oil as its motive, to depose
\nPresident Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n
She further called on Iraq to comply with the UN resolution to
\navert war and save the lives of the many Iraqis who would die.<\/p>\n
"Therefore as a friend and fellow member of this movement,
\nIndonesia calls on Iraq to abide by its obligations under the
\nrelevant UN Security Council resolutions," Megawati said.<\/p>\n
She also urged Israel to comply with the UN resolution in
\naddressing the Palestinian issue. The Indonesian government also
\nthrew its weight behind a proposal to send UN security forces to
\nprotect civilians in the state.<\/p>\n
"From the prevailing problems of different regions, we can
\nidentify a growing trend, where the powerful imposes its will on
\nthe weak. This trend would only advance injustices, which in turn
\nleads to other forms of violence, namely terrorism," Megawati
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A stronger statement on Iraq came from Malaysian Prime
\nMinister Mahathir Mohamad, who said the U.S. plan to strike Iraq
\n"is no longer just a war against terrorism" but "is in fact a war
\nto dominate the world."<\/p>\n
A draft statement on Iraq to be presented at the end of the
\nsummit Tuesday opposes any war without the support of the UN and
\ncalls on Baghdad to "actively" comply with UN demands that it
\ndisarm.<\/p>\n
NAM groups 114 countries, most of them developing nations who
\ndepend on foreign aid, including from the U.S.<\/p>",
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