Afghanistan crisis a test for government solidity

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.