Domestic vs world opinion
Domestic vs world opinion
The U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan have put the government of
President Megawati Soekarnoputri in a bind. It has to thread
carefully between majority international opinion, which supports
the attacks, and domestic public opinion, which ranges from
outright condemnation to tacit support.
Whatever position it takes, it must ultimately be dictated by
national interests. Indonesia cannot ignore the majority world
opinion, nor can the government dismiss domestic public opinion.
Right now, the government seems to have taken a severe beating
from both sides. At home, it has been criticized for shying away
from condemning the attacks. Abroad, America is irritated at
Jakarta's wavering support for its campaign against terrorism, of
which the attacks on Afghanistan are an important part.
The official response, as outlined on Oct. 8, has been
measured and proportionate. Couched in diplomatic language, it
said that Indonesia was deeply concerned at the attacks and
insisted that any global war on terrorism must be taken
collectively under UN leadership. This was the strongest
Indonesia could have gone in criticizing the United States. While
it acknowledges the right of America to respond to the terrorist
attacks on its soil, it cautioned Washington about the potential
casualties among civilian Afghans.
As rational and pragmatic as the response sounds, the
government never consulted the House of Representatives
beforehand. Not surprisingly, it failed to secure domestic public
support. Instead, this gave room for the small but vocal and
hardline groups to steal the show and to virtually dictate the
national political agenda these past two weeks with their
provocative statements, such as a demand for ties with the United
States to be severed.
Later on, President Megawati's Oct. 15 statement, that no
nation had the right to attack another, or to seek to erase blood
with blood, was widely misinterpreted as succumbing to public
pressure. She may have been stating a widely accepted principle
guiding international relations, but many people were quick to
perceive this as a veiled attack on the United States.
This whole episode suggests that the government has failed
miserably in the art of political communication. Domestic and
international public opinion need not have collided had the
government prepared its case better, and fully informed the
public of its policies and their rationale.
For an issue as big as this, President Megawati should have
consulted the House of Representatives' leadership before, and
not after, announcing the government's response. And for an issue
as big as this, President Megawati should have personally taken
charge of the situation, instead of leaving the matter entirely
in the hands of her lieutenants.