Afghanistan crisis a test for government solidity

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Complications arising from the U.S.-Afghanistan conflict will be a test of solidity for the nationalist and religious-based coalition government led by President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz, experts said on Tuesday.

Political experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that contemporary developments following the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon on Sept. 11 had made a crack in relations between Megawati and Hamzah.

Rizal Mallarangeng said that the honeymoon in the government had ended two months after their election.

"A new government's honeymoon usually lasts for three months, but Megawati and Hamzah's government honeymoon finished after only two months because of various political differences," Rizal said.

Other experts speaking at the conference included J. Kristiadi, Kusnanto Anggoro, Tubagus Feridyanustyawan and Tommi A. Legowo. CSIS economist Hadi Soesastro was also present.

Kusnanto urged Megawati and Hamzah not to voice different responses to certain issues, and to put aside their short-term political interests.

"The sound of trumpets should be clear, if they come from leaders," Kusnanto said.

Differences between the two had become especially obvious after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

While Megawati expressed her condolences for the deaths of about 5,600 people during the attacks, Hamzah said the attacks would atone the sins of the U.S. for what it had done to other countries.

Hamzah also made a statement that contradicted the government's stance on whether it would allow Jihad troops to be sent to Afghanistan.

But the Vice President urged Indonesian Muslims on Tuesday not to become emotional in response to the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan.

Rizal said the "sudden coalition" between Megawati's nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Hamzah's Muslim-based United Development Party would not go smoothly.

Such coalitions between nationalists and religious parties were never successful in Indonesian history, he contended.

"I think this coalition is still an experiment as our history shows that coalitions like these were never successful," Rizal told the news conference here on Tuesday.

Rizal said differences between the two leaders would not be easy to resolve, particularly since each leader had their own political agenda in anticipation of the 2004 general election.

"But we still hope that Megawati and Hamzah will be able to make a coherent government so that the process of economic recovery can take place successfully," said Rizal.

Meanwhile, in his evaluation of the government's performance over the past two months, Kristiadi said that no significant progress had been made in the way the government resolved political and security problems, including how the government handled the separatist movement.

Kristiadi said the government had not been able to deliver on its promises, including fighting corruption, collusion and nepotism.