RI economy to suffer should U.S. attack Iraq<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's economy, still struggling to recover from the
\neconomic crisis in the late 1990s, would experience another major
\nsetback if the U.S. launched a military strike on Iraq, a
\nforeign-based economist said.<\/p>\n
Hal Hill, an economics professor at the Australian National
\nUniversity, told Antara that the attack would severely damage the
\ncountry's economy and the rest of the world, with the risk of a
\nstock market crash and global economic recession looming large.<\/p>\n
He said that this would further hurt Indonesia's exports.<\/p>\n
Hill explained that the war would not only discourage foreign
\ninvestors from coming to the country but could also cause
\nexisting ones to flee on fear of a possible backlash from Muslim
\nradicals here.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think they (foreign investors) would dare to come to
\nIndonesia because a war might cause radicalism to develop in the
\ncountry,\" Hill said on Friday, adding that the scope of anti-
\nWestern sentiment would depend on whether the attack were
\nperceived as unilateral action by the U.S. or carried the
\napproval of the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n
\"In the latter case (attack without UN approval), I'm very
\nworried that friction between the West and Islam would be more
\nintense.\"<\/p>\n
He said that even though not all of Iraq's population were
\nMuslims, a U.S.-led attack would create solidarity between Muslim
\npeople worldwide, including those in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Commenting on some remarks that a war would benefit Indonesia
\nin that it would send the oil price rocketing, Hill quickly
\nbrushed aside such a possibility, saying that in the longer term,
\nit would be a blow to the local economy.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is an oil exporting nation and the only member of
\nthe Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the
\nregion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-economy-to-suffer-should-us-attack-iraq-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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