Alatas, 70 and still going strong

Alatas, 70 and still going strong

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When former foreign minister Ali Alatas celebrates his 70th
birthday on Monday, it will be a good moment to reflect on his
achievements and failures as a diplomat for about 45 years up
until 1999.

There is a long list of his successes as a foreign minister
for more than 11 years from 1988, including his leading role in
ending the prolonged political crisis in Cambodia. After three
years of presiding over exhausting negotiations among the warring
factions, peace slowly returned to Cambodia after the Paris
Conference in October 1991.

Five years later, the Philippine government and Muslim rebel
Nur Misuari from the Moro Nationalist Liberation Front (MNLF)
reached a peace agreement. Alatas again played a crucial role
during the negotiations.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post at his office, Makarim &
Taira S law firm on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, Alatas talked
about his experience as a diplomat. He openly conceded the tragic
and bloody break away of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999 as the
most bitter event of his career.

It was even more bitter because B.J. Habibie, who replaced
Soeharto in May 1998, did not consult Alatas, as his foreign
minister, at all when he suddenly proposed the referendum for
East Timor.

"My regret is not about East Timor's separation from us. That
is a matter of fate. But it could have been done in a peaceful
manner," said Alatas.

Alatas often described the problem of East Timor "like a
pebble in the shoe" for Indonesia. He laughed when told that it
was not just a pebble, but a bomb for Indonesia.

Alatas was deeply involved in the East Timor issue. He was
always very confident that East Timor would remain a part of
Indonesia. Only when the Santa Cruz massacre erupted on Nov. 12,
1991, did he start to worry about the fate of the tiny province.

In 1994, he said Soeharto flatly turned down his proposal to
give special autonomy to East Timor. He recalled how Soeharto let
him finish talking about his proposal during a meeting, but then
said,"No," to him.

Alatas, born in Jakarta on Nov. 4, 1932, praised several
people who assisted him during his career at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

However, although he worked for 10 years as Soeharto's foreign
minister, for Ali Alatas, former foreign minister and vice
president the late Adam Malik, was likely the most influential
figure in his career as a diplomat. Alatas illustrated his
respect for Soeharto when asked about the former president, who
he served as foreign minister for 10 years until his fall in May
1988, but he was more passionate when talking about Adam Malik.

Alatas disclosed several funny stories about Adam Malik, for
whom Alatas worked as secretary when Adam was the foreign
minister from 1975 to 1976. Also when he served Adam as secretary
when the latter was vice president from 1978 to 1982.

Bored because he had to repeat similar statements about
Indonesia to his guests, Adam often asked Ali to repeat his
previous statements in English, although what he said in Bahasa
Indonesia was completely different from what Ali had to pretend
to translate.

"I had to pretend to translate what he was saying. Actually I
just repeated his previous remarks, and of course I could not
translate what he really said because it might upset the guests.
I just pretended to be busy," Alatas recalled in a conversation
with The Jakarta Post on Friday.

However one day, Adam and Ali had an embarrassing moment
during a meeting with ambassadors from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. As usual, Adam asked
Ali to repeat his previous remarks, and laughed when Ali reminded
him that the Malaysian ambassador understood what he said.

"So you understood what I said," Adam asked the ambassador
after realizing his mistake.

When asked about any funny experiences with Soeharto, Adam
replied, "It was not often funny with him." But then quickly
added that Soeharto gave him the freedom to direct Indonesia's
foreign diplomacy because Soeharto was not interested in the
details of diplomacy.

Soeharto, of course, was happy with his chief diplomat because
Alatas helped him realize his dream of appearing to be a leading
world leader. In 1992, Soeharto chaired the Non Aligned Movement
(NAM) summit in Jakarta. Two years later he hosted the second
Asia Pacific Economic Summit (APEC) summit in Bogor, West Java.

In 1992, Soeharto portrayed himself as the spokesman of
developing countries. Alatas then held a press conference to
reveal the results of his negotiations with industrialized
countries and major donors. He expressed his disappointment in
length, as he had failed to persuade them to write off or reduce
their loans to the least developed nations in Africa.

"You know what they replied to our proposal?" Alatas asked the
journalists tersely.

"Enak di lu kagak enak di gue (It is only good for you but not
good for us," a reporter answered, imitating a Betawi joke.

Alatas was reportedly tipped to become United Nations
secretary-general in the early 1990s, but his boss Soeharto was
apparently not interested in Alatas holding the job.

"No, I was never formally nominated for that position. And I
never discussed it with Pak Harto," Alatas played down the
report.

Alatas, who is of Arab descent, retired as a diplomat in
October 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the country's fourth
president replacing Habibie. When Megawati replaced Abdurrahman
last year, she asked Alatas to be his advisor on foreign affairs.

Now, Alatas works with the Makarim & Taira S law firm advising
foreign executives who want to know more about Indonesia.

He enjoys his days with his wife Anisa and their three
daughters, who have given them five grandchildren.

"Attending seminars is also one of my favorite activities,"
said Alatas.