Minister Straw's visit<\/p>\n
By now, the British Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth
\nAffairs, Jack Straw, must have conveyed to his fellow cabinet
\nmembers his impressions on his visit to Indonesia and Malaysia
\nlast week. He did stop over in Singapore, but as far as his
\nmission to explain the British and American position on Iraq is
\nconcerned, the important stops on his itinerary were no doubt
\nIndonesia and Malaysia, the majority of whose populations are
\nMuslim. Officially, his visit to Indonesia was to accept the
\ninvitation extended by Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama
\n(NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia with roughly
\n40 million followers.<\/p>\n
It is not that Britain would change its mind and decide not to
\nsupport the U.S. in its plan to attack Iraq in view of the
\nskeptical, and even critical, views aired both in Jakarta and
\nKuala Lumpur. On the other hand, it seems that neither NU nor any
\nof the other religious leaders who were present at the meeting
\nwith Minister Straw last Thursday had shifted from their
\nrejection of an attack on Iraq.<\/p>\n
NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi was quoted as saying after the
\nmeeting that, \"Almost all Indonesians disagree with an attack on
\nIraq, and such a move would widen the gap between the West and
\nus.\" Hasyim Muzadi was in a position to relate such a comment,
\nbecause Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda had issued a strong and
\nclear statement on the issue. Wirayuda stated that Indonesia
\ncould not approve of such a move if it was made outside the
\nframework of the UN resolution. Foreign Minister Straw, for his
\npart, stated that \"war is not inevitable\" if only President
\nSaddam Hussein agreed to the peaceful disarmament of his weapons
\nof mass destruction.<\/p>\n
But if the meeting was unable to change the views of the
\nparties involved, then what could have been the purpose of the
\nBritish foreign minister's visit? From NU's point of view, and we
\ncould safely say Indonesia's as well, the visit was appreciated
\nas London's special gesture and effort to understand the views of
\nthose Southeast Asian countries with a Muslim majority
\npopulation. And, as far as Indonesia is concerned, he might also
\nhave come to the understanding that the stance of the Republic of
\nIndonesia which, as Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda explained to
\nhim, has traditionally adhered to an independent and active
\nforeign policy, is not dictated by only its Islamic majority.<\/p>\n
Most probably, Foreign Minister Straw's visit to Indonesia and
\nMalaysia served his own domestic political interests as well,
\nespecially by appeasing the left wing of the Labor Party and to
\nconvince it that the Labor government has made serious efforts to
\nclarify why it has been supporting the U.S. in its plan to go to
\nwar against Iraq.<\/p>\n
Realistically, however, we in Indonesia should make the
\nnecessary political and economic preparations in anticipation of
\na war breaking out although, as D Day seems to be getting closer,
\nboth Washington and London may make additional efforts to justify
\ntheir decision to attack Iraq -- perhaps by stating that the UN
\nteam of inspectors failed to carry out its assignment to discover
\nIraq's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.<\/p>\n
War should not cause internal upheavals, precisely
\nbecause of the need to maintain our political stability, so as
\nnot to upset the fragile national stability. We should not spend
\ntoo much of our emotions reacting to the U.S.-British decision.
\nInstead, we should concentrate on taking the preparatory measures
\nnecessary to confine any negative effects resulting from a war on
\nIraq.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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