Indonesia must join Afghan mission

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, The Indonesian Quarterly, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta

It has been widely reported that the opposition Northern Alliance has finally captured Kabul. The Taliban regime has been forced to move to its two remaining strongholds, Kandahar and Kundus. New hopes grow, but anxiety and fear remains. This is only a small part of what will be the larger and longer story of Afghanistan. Its future will be determined not only by the stability of the interplay of the factions within the Northern Alliance, but also the extent to which the Taliban can regain its position through guerrilla warfare.

The fall of Kabul is perhaps the beginning of new instability in Afghanistan. It is therefore expected that a new policy should be initiated, as is the case after every crisis. The establishment of a United Nations peace keeping force in the country is now on the UN agenda.

Indonesia, which has had considerable experience in peace keeping operations dating back to the Suez Canal war in 1957, has been named along with other predominantly Muslim countries like Bangladesh, Jordan and Turkey as the most suited to carry out the UN peace keeping mission in Afghanistan.

However the idea that Indonesia should be part of the forces has created controversy at home. Why?

Legislators are divided on the issue. Some offer conditional support for Indonesia's participation in the force provided that the government first consult the House of Representatives. Others bluntly urge the government against joining an international peace keeping force, even if the request comes from the UN, saying that Indonesia needs all its available resources to deal with its domestic problems.

If one prescribes to such a view, then perhaps we would never have seen Indonesia's participation in the international forces, since its participation in such operations in the past has always been against a backdrop of domestic problems. It also depends, of course, on how one defines domestic problems.

It is also difficult to understand the argument that Indonesia's peace keeping forces would be used as a buffer for the United States in dealing with the people in Afghanistan, or that Indonesia would be playing into the hands of the United States.

Why should the U.S. ask Indonesia to be its buffer or act as its extension if there are other countries, perhaps better equipped and with more experience, whom the U.S. can depend on for its continued operation in Afghanistan?

Indonesia's participation in the restabilization and restoration of Afghanistan should not be viewed through such narrow lenses. Besides there is just no guarantee that a Muslim force would not create difficulties. It is indeed prudent for Indonesia not to always follow the policy of a superpower.

But post-Taliban Afghanistan, after having been torn apart by continuous bombing and where human suffering is the most compelling problem that must be dealt with, needs the aid of all countries, regardless of their policy and stand toward each other.

Peace keeping operations are not new to Indonesia as we have joined UN missions in different parts of the world since 1957 and we have been praised by other members of respective missions.

The polemics over our participation in the UN mission should not prevent the government from making the right decision. The government should not subscribe to the views of those who object to or have reservations about Indonesia's participation in the UN peace mission.

The Afghan crisis has created a momentum for Indonesia to enhance its efforts to retain its reputation and enhance its credibility in international relations. This is in line with the government policy that Indonesia should initiate a more active role in international politics, regardless of who plays the main role in shaping it.

Achieving a positive image as a peace-loving country is definitely not the primary purpose of Indonesia's participation in the UN mission in Afghanistan. If the UN does finally request our participation in the mission and Indonesia sends its troops to Afghanistan, the participation must be seen not only as a clear reflection of our responsibility in maintaining international peace and security, but perhaps also as an explicit expression of our concern for the suffering of our Muslim brothers.

As the largest Muslim country in the world and as the main victims of the tragedy in Afghanistan are Muslims, Indonesia should not hesitate in initiating a policy that would enhance its standing in the Muslim world.

This is not to say that Islam should dictate the current and future foreign policies of Indonesia. It is in our national interests that Indonesia be part of international efforts in combating terrorism and help heal, both mentally and physically, those who have been the target of terrorism and of retaliatory actions.

Rebuilding Afghanistan in the post-Taliban regime is now the prime concern of all members of the international community. Our participation in the UN mission in Afghanistan would definitely bring some tangible and strategic gains to the country.

First, our active participation, despite our economic crisis, would increase the confidence of the international community in Indonesia and demonstrate our willingness to play a leading role in international cooperation. This would mean an enlargement of Indonesia's global role in resolving international problems.

Second, more active participation will elevate our competitive leverage vis-a-vis other participating Muslim countries. Third, Indonesia will be noted by the UN as being one of the those countries committed to promoting a civilized world and who does not justify its participation on religious grounds.

As the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia should continue to encourage the deployment of a UN peace keeping force in Afghanistan. But once the force is established, Indonesia must take a firm position to remind the UN that the execution of its mission should not be to further the interests of certain major powers, but for the sake of protecting civilians from being victimized by further instability and insecurity.