Indonesia should maintain role in peace process

Indonesia should maintain role in peace process

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia should continue its role in helping peace return to the
Middle East despite the death of Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat, observers urged.

Riza Sihbudi of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
and Smith Alhadar of the Indonesian Society for Middle East
Studies (ISMES) said the death of Arafat should instead encourage
Indonesia to rally international pressure to help peace return to
the Middle East.

The two experts, however, differed on how the government
should play that role.

Riza suggested that the government continue the campaign for
peace through either the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)
or the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), while Smith said that
Indonesia should take the initiative to mediate between Israel
and Palestine.

"Indonesia, which has no political burden, can mediate between
the two conflicting sides," Smith told The Jakarta Post here on
Thursday.

According to him, mediating through the OIC would not work as
Israel distrusts the organization.

Several members of the OIC, including Indonesia and Iran, have
no diplomatic ties with Israel.

Riza and Smith were commenting on the role the Indonesian
government could play in bringing peace to the Middle East after
the death of the Palestinian leader.

Arafat died at 2:30 GMT on Thursday in a Paris military
hospital, aged 75, after being airlifted to France on Oct. 29
from his West Bank headquarters. He had been in a coma since Nov.
3.

House of Representatives (DPR)'s foreign commission chairman
Theo L. Sambuaga, meanwhile, suggested that the Indonesian
government continue its full support for Palestine's struggle for
independence.

"The government should mobilize international pressure for
Palestinian independence through the OIC or NAM," Theo said.

Riza said it would be difficult for Indonesia to play the role
of mediator because the peace process in Middle East was
controlled by the United States.

"Through some international organizations, Indonesia can offer
an alternative road map for peace in the Middle East," he told
the Post.

According to Riza, Indonesia could continue the peace campaign
and garner support from the European Union member countries.

The European Union member countries had facilitated peace
talks in Madrid in 1991 before the peace process was brought to
the United States.

He emphasized that in order to bring peace to the Middle East,
many more countries should take part in the process, otherwise
the United States would take a unilateral role in determining the
process.

Under the United States leadership, the peace process in
Middle East has not seen significant progress apparently because
the United States sides with Israel, he said.

Meanwhile, Smith expressed concern about who would succeed
Arafat. According to him, whoever replaces Arafat will determine
the progress of the peace process.