Better late than never

Better late than never

Better late than never? Certainly, this is one maxim that is
much overused -- and one that does not always hold true.
Fortunately, though, in the context of the current Indonesian
situation there is reason to believe that the long delay in the
government's readiness to consult leaders of the country's
political, religious and social communities has not at this stage
done irreparable harm to the country's stability.

Responding to growing public clamor for the government to
initiate open and candid discussions concerning the national
situation in the wake of the combined American-British assault in
Afghanistan and mounting public condemnation of it here at home,
the government invited leaders of the House of Representatives
last Friday to the State Palace for talks.

At long last at least some form of communication has been
established between the government and the public, although
certainly not everyone may be satisfied with the results. After
all, loudest among the demands pushed by street protesters has
been that the government take a firmer stance against the United
States and its Western allies in relation to its actions in
Afghanistan. Some have even demanded that Indonesia sever
diplomatic relations with the U.S. -- something the government is
obviously not prepared to do.

As has already been widely reported, in her talks in
Washington with U.S. President George W. Bush a few weeks ago,
President Megawati Soekarnoputri pledged Indonesia's support for
the fight against terrorism in the context of regional and
worldwide efforts to stop this global scourge or prevent it from
spreading. This is not surprising, since Indonesia itself has in
the past few years been victim to several bombings and other
terrorist acts for whatever motive they were committed.

The government has also officially condemned the September 11
terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon, without, however,
making any references to Afghanistan or, to be more specific, to
the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, whom the U.S. sees as being the
mastermind behind the September 11 attacks. Groups within the
Islamic community in Indonesia have since demanded that Indonesia
take a tougher stance vis-a-vis the United States. Leaders in the
House of Representatives, for their part, have asked the
government to "pay attention to the public's demands" -- which
could mean, if one were to take the demands of the street
protesters as representative of "the public's aspirations",
anything from publicly condemning the American-British attacks in
Afghanistan to severing diplomatic relations with the U.S.

It is interesting in this context to note that the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in its recent
meeting in Doha did not condemn the American-British assault in
Afghanistan, neither did they recommend the severing of
diplomatic relations with the U.S. Surely, the OIC can be
considered to be the legitimate, recognized representative of the
Islamic countries of the world.

In all this, one fact remains indisputable. Throughout the
crisis here at home resulting from the September 11 attacks in
the U.S. and the ensuing British-American air and missile assault
in Afghanistan, the government has been extremely slow to react.
It is also obviously lacking in good public relations. The
easiest thing for the authorities to do in such as situation is,
as always, to blame the media for creating all the fuss. To some
extent, admittedly, that may be true.

It is also difficult to deny, however, that President
Megawati's silence on the matter is creating an impression of
indecisiveness, or vacillating on her part in taking necessary
decisions. This, of course, is unfortunate. One thing all
Indonesians should heed at this moment of crisis is to put the
nation's broader interests above everything else. Also, some
serious soul-searching may be in order so Indonesians can see
things in their proper perspective and act with insight and
wisdom.