How RI, U.S. improve ties

Ardimas Sasdi, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Berkeley, California

A recent visit by a high-level U.S. delegation to Jakarta this month to look at Islam in Indonesia, took place barely a month after a tour of Indonesian chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhyono to Washington. These visits reflect that now is the right momentum for Indonesia and the U.S. to strengthen bilateral ties.

The U.S. message is clear, but both sides need to exercise caution, taking into account the already difficult position of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's secular administration in the largest Islamic country in the world.

This issue on terrorism and Islam can be easily manipulated by politicians from opposition parties to pit Megawati's ineffective government, which still grapples with the impacts of the 1997 economic crisis, and which is facing the 2004 elections.

In light of Jakarta's limitations the U.S. would need a design a plausible plan and a proper communication approach, an aspect which has surely been considered by the U.S. side, taking into account the seniority of members of the delegation led by former U.S. envoy to Syria, Edward P. Djeredjian.

Another factor not conducive to a dialog on sensitive issues is the current trend among the people and the press in Indonesia to question any governmental policy.

The problem has been aggravated by the disillusionment of some Indonesians, who perceive that the situation was more orderly under Soeharto, as pointed out by a recent poll. It showed how short the collective memory is when confronted with economic difficulties. These factors would make it harder for the government to wage a war against the misguided elements among Muslims -- if such a plan were to be instigated.

Luckily, the influence of large, influential organizations like Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah remains strong in shaping popular opinion among Muslims in politics, social affairs and the economy.

The myriad of problems and dramatic changes in Indonesia, post Soeharto, are matters which must be contemplated by both Indonesia and the U.S. before they act.

The form and capacity of cooperation between Jakarta and Washington must, therefore, be tailored toward this new political reality; stress should be given to continued cooperation in the fields of culture and education.

These days, even humorously intentioned remarks can hurt. The friend of an Indonesian scholar scheduled to leave for the U.S. asked him, "Want to be a CIA agent?" This playful statement could reflect the negative image of some Indonesians of the U.S., which hit an all time low after the latest U.S. invasion, of Iraq.

Given such negative views and the unfriendly attitudes of politicians in Washington against the Indonesian Military (TNI) over human rights abuses, more time is needed to forge a cooperation in political and military affairs.

The U.S. decision to cut the supply of spare parts for U.S.- made weapons, grounding the F-16 jets used by TNI, for example, has been responded to by Jakarta with the purchase of Russian made jets.

These explain why Indonesia and the U.S. need to explore a new form of cooperation in order to win the hearts and minds of the people and politicians in both countries.

Culture and education could still be used for future cooperation, given the rising influence and leadership of some American trained scholars in Indonesia, especially influential Muslim scholars like Muhammadiyah's chairman Syafii Maarif, the prominent scholar and rector of Paramadina University, Nurcholish Madjid and rector of the Jakarta Islamic University Azyumardi Azra.

The existence of such high-caliber scholars has not only been able to shape a friendly image of Indonesia, but also to contain a trend toward radicalism among certain Islamic groups. Experts have attributed this trend to the long, systematic repression of politically active Muslims by Soeharto's regime and a feeling of backwardness, because they cannot perform in a modern world.

Cooperation could be in the form of continuing to send Indonesians to U.S. universities to study Islam and facilitating the reform of education at Islamic boarding schools where needed; a number of boarding schools are suspected of teaching an incorrect concept of Islam.

The opportunity for such cooperation is provided with the transition to democracy and regional autonomy. Following cooperation in sectors, such as culture and education, political and military cooperation would at last eventuate.

The writer is a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.