Indonesia's diplomacy

Indonesia's diplomacy

President Megawati Soekarnoputri made a rare and surprising
display of her acumen in international diplomacy this weekend
when she acted as a go-between for the leaders of North Korea and
South Korea. The occasion was presented as Megawati visited
Pyongyang and Seoul, which form part of her tour of Asia that
also includes China and India. While these visits are essentially
intended to enhance bilateral ties with the host countries, she
could not escape the international demands placed on her to play
a role in the search for peace in the Korean peninsula.

For a new leader with little exposure to the complexity of
international diplomacy, Megawati has more than lived up to
expectation, certainly judging by her performance in North Korea.

In Pyongyang on Friday, she used friendly persuasion to
convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to resume talks with
South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung on reconciliation and
unification of the two Koreas. Knowing the sensitivity of North
Korea towards unsolicited interference from outsiders, Megawati
refrained from imposing her views on her host in Pyogyang.
Instead, she used a personal rapport that she has enjoyed with
the North Korean leader to effective use.

The two go back to their childhood days, when they first met
in the 1950s as the offspring of two revolutionary leaders:
Sukarno of Indonesia, and Kim Il-sung of North Korea. Indonesia
is also one of the few countries in the world that have managed
to foster warm relations with the reclusive North Korea.

Megawati delivered a message from Seoul, and also reportedly
one from Washington, which essentially urged Pyongyang to return
to the negotiating tables. But without her personal rapport with
Kim Jong-il, and without Indonesia's long history of friendly
ties with North Korea, those messages would have fallen flat.

And she went beyond from simply acting as a messenger, by
offering Indonesia's good offices to mediate between the two
Koreas. It may seem like a long shot, but since Jakarta enjoys
good relations with both Seoul and Pyongyang, it is well
positioned to play the role of a mediator.

Whether by design or accident, the timing of her visit could
not have been more opportune. It came only a few weeks after U.S.
President George W. Bush's famous "axis of evil" speech, in which
he accused North Korea of building or amassing weapons of mass
destruction. Reconciliation talks between the two Koreas have
stalled for the past year, and many had feared that Bush's latest
speech would only push North Korea further into isolation.

It goes without saying that Indonesia should play an active
role in international diplomacy in promoting international peace.
That, after all, is mandated by our constitution. And, in spite
of its own domestic problems, Indonesia has a proven track record
in international diplomacy. Its most shining moment came in the
1990s when it took the lead in a regional campaign to bring an
end to the Cambodian civil wars.

Indonesia's role in international affairs receded somewhat in
the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The domestic
situation forced Indonesia to become inward-looking as it dealt
with one crisis after another. As the situation slowly improves
today, Indonesia should once again reseize the initiatives in
foreign affairs, and play a role in international diplomacy
commensurate with its position as the world's fourth most
populous country, and the largest nation in Southeast Asia.

Whatever transpires from Megawati's Korean diplomacy --
whether her offer is taken up or rejected by either or both
Korean leaders -- Indonesia has done its part in the search for
peace in the peninsula. That is not an insignificant
contribution. Most important of all, however, the visit has sent
the clearest signals to the region and the rest of the world, and
perhaps more importantly to the domestic audience, that Jakarta
has regained its confidence and is now ready to do its part once
again in world affairs.