Indonesia, Malaysia see UN role in postwar Iraq

Indonesia, Malaysia see UN role in postwar Iraq

Reuters, Kuala Lumpur

Indonesia and Malaysia, two Muslim-majority nations opposed to the war on Iraq, said on Monday the United Nations should play a key role in post-war Iraq.

"We agree that this role should be given to the UN and the UN must be seen as a functional organization, having a major role," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid said after talks with visiting Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and neighboring Malaysia have both criticized the U.S.-led attack on Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are due to meet in Northern Ireland on Monday to try to iron out differences over the strategy for post-war Iraq.

U.S. officials have ruled out a key political mission for the UN, saying Washington and its allies earned that right by giving "life and blood" on the battlefield. London wants Washington to give the UN more say in the running of Iraq once the war is over.

Wirayuda, on the last leg of a three-nation Southeast Asia tour, told Reuters last week that the UN, whose credibility was damaged by the U.S. decision to press on with military action without getting clearance from the Security Council, would regain some prestige if it played a central role in post-war Iraq.

Syed Hamid said on Monday that Kuala Lumpur would also like to have a share of the rebuilding work.

"I think they (UN) have no choice but to invite Malaysia because in this particular case, Malaysia is very well accepted by the people of Iraq," the national Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.

Indonesia, which is 85 percent Muslim, has seen daily protests since the war began, but most have been relatively peaceful. Protests in Malaysia have been on a much smaller scale.