Little to lift Indonesian pride in 2001

Little to lift Indonesian pride in 2001

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A year of self-doubt. That would be the perfect way to describe
Indonesia's role and actions in the international fora in 2001.

As the world's fourth most populous nation and once the most
respected country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia continues to walk
in limbo as it struggles to resolve a wide range of domestic
economic and political problems.

The economic hardship which began to hit the country in late
1997 has shown only little sign of recovery even under three
presidents in the span of three years.

Worse still, the reform movement which began in 1998,
following the fall of the authoritarian government of president
Soeharto, seems to be stagnating if not backsliding.
Understandably, all this has damaged much of Indonesia's image as
a strong nation and fledgling democracy.

The rise of Megawati Soekarnoputri to the country's presidency
in July brought a ray of hope to the majority of 210 million
Indonesian people that her government would quickly ease the
damage done by her predecessors in various facets of the
country's national life.

When appointing her Cabinet ministers, she underlined that
Indonesia should pursue its free and active foreign policy in
regaining its credibility in the international arena.

The first foreign policy test for her administration came
after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

She sent a strong message that Indonesia unequivocally
condemned terrorism and supported the U.S. policy to crush
international terrorist networks.

But as the U.S. bombs began to fall on Afghanistan, a country
Washington accuses of harboring Osama bin Laden, the alleged
mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, she deplored the air raids.

Megawati wavered after many local Muslim leaders and
organizations criticized her for being too pro-American and not
accommodative to Muslims in the country, leaving many observers
puzzled with what they perceive as a measure of inconsistency
from Indonesia.

As the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia could
have played a more strategic role in mediating the ensuing
tension between Washington and the global Muslim community.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono once suggested that the government
appoint special envoys to help find a comprehensive solution to
the Afghanistan crisis.

The special envoys would be tasked with traveling across the
Middle East, including the conflict-ridden and frontline states
such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to the U.S. in a bid to
find an acceptable solution that could satisfy all involved.

There was talk at the time of appointing former ministers of
foreign affairs Ali Alatas and Alwi Shihab, political observer
and former minister of defense Juwono Sudarsono, as the special
envoys.

However nothing came of the idea.

Many still remember how Indonesia in its heyday was considered
the leader of Southeast Asian countries and how it had put forth
many international initiatives.

Indonesia, currently chair of the commission of eight of the
Organization of Islamic Conference, continues to try and mediate
peace between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) with the
Philippine government, which is a strong U.S. ally in Asia.

These achievements are living proof of the important
contribution Indonesia can play in the international fora.

Seen from this standpoint, Megawati should have started to
brush aside her hesitation to have a greater say in the current
changing political constellation.

The hesitation is understandable as State/Cabinet Secretary
Bambang Kesowo once said that Megawati fully realizes she will be
unlikely to achieve much on the international stage while the
country's political and economic situation remains chaotic.

"Who will listen to you if you can't even keep your own house
in order?" Bambang said.