`RI-U.S. ties remain intact despite war'<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda believes that Indonesia's stance
\nopposing the United States' decision to attack Iraq will not harm
\nbilateral ties between the two countries as Washington is aware
\nthat Jakarta has to stick by its antiwar principles.<\/p>\n
Hassan said on Thursday that the war concerned international
\naffairs and was not a bilateral issue between Indonesia on the
\none side and the U.S. and its allies on the other.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the United States, Britain and Australia view
\nthe problem as an international issue and not as bilateral
\nproblems between each of these countries and us,\" Hassan
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
\"This is an international matter and is related to certain
\nprinciples such as opposition to war and support for
\nmultilateralism.\"<\/p>\n
Hassan was speaking to reporters after accompanying President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri during a press conference when she
\naddressed the Iraq issue at the State Palace.<\/p>\n
Hours after the first U.S. strike on Iraq, Megawati announced
\nthat Indonesia \"strongly deplores\" the attacks and called them
\n\"an act of aggression\".<\/p>\n
It was the strongest statement Indonesia has made against the
\nU.S. in years. There have also been demands for the government to
\nsevere ties with Washington following the strikes.<\/p>\n
Although acknowledging that keeping cordial relations with
\nWashington was crucial for the ongoing economic recovery, Jakarta
\ninsisted on Thursday that the use of military force to disarm
\nIraq violated the principle of multilateralism.<\/p>\n
\"This country supports multilateralism and opposes any efforts
\nto sideline the United Nations. This has been our stance since
\nthe beginning of the crisis,\" Hassan underlined.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Juwono Sudarsono said Megawati's statement
\nclearly reflected Jakarta's standpoint rejecting the war.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. should have been aware that its attack on Iraq would
\nillicit such a reaction,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The U.S. strike on Baghdad, which began on Thursday morning,
\nhas once again placed Indonesia in a difficult position --
\nwhether to put more weight on bilateral relations with the U.S.
\nand its allies, or to respond to the demands of domestic
\nconstituents.<\/p>\n
Washington's influence in the International Monetary Fund,
\nfrom which Jakarta is seeking financial assistance, and the fact
\nthat it is one of the largest investors in the country, make it
\nclear that it would be pointless to damage relations with the
\nU.S.<\/p>\n
Indonesia also greatly depends on the U.S. for military
\nequipment and weaponry.<\/p>\n
In 2001 when Afghanistan came under U.S. attack, newly
\nappointed President Megawati merely said she was \"gravely
\nconcerned\" over the attack.<\/p>\n
It was only after huge domestic pressure was brought to bear
\non her administration that Megawati dared to say she deplored the
\nattack. Indonesia's stronger stance against the U.S. led to a
\nperiod of uneasy relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Analysts had expected that Megawati would be circumspect in
\nresponding to the U.S. attack on Iraq.<\/p>\n
\"We are fully aware of rising anxiety that the statement could
\ndamage ties between Indonesia and these countries, but at this
\npoint we have to underline our basic stance,\" Hassan stressed.<\/p>\n
Ties between Jakarta and Washington slumped to their lowest
\nebb in the early 1960s during the administration of founding
\npresident Sukarno, who is Megawati's father.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-us-ties-remain-intact-despite-war-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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