New strategies for RI diplomacy
New strategies for RI diplomacy
By Aleksius Jemadu
BANDUNG (JP): Time and again Indonesia has been a vulnerable
target of international criticism for its human rights record.
Most recently media reports on the mysterious disappearance of
political activists are believed to have tarnished the
government's reputation abroad.
There is a growing concern that the use of repressive measures
to silence opposition groups could lead to the deterioration of
Indonesia's diplomatic clout in the eyes of the international
community.
No one can deny that the problem of human rights has become
one source of contention between developing and developed
countries.
The Indonesian case has been made more complicated by the fact
that it is very much dependent on Western countries and
international financial institutions to solve its economic
crisis. Such dependence will obviously weaken the government's
bargaining position vis a vis its Western counterparts.
Post-Cold War international political and economic regimes
seem to favor the interests and values of the Western world. The
primacy of economic liberalism as a perspective in contemporary
international political economies tends to strengthen and
perpetuate the superiority of Western industrial countries over
the rest of the world. These countries are more prepared and have
a higher capacity to compete at the global level due to their
industrial bases and mastery of high technology.
For developing countries like Indonesia to improve their human
rights records as demanded by Western leaders it is not only a
question of political willingness but also of systemic capacity.
It is unfair to ask developing countries to achieve economic
equality and political democratization simultaneously in a short
period of time.
Sometimes they have to make trade-offs between different
policy priorities. More established economic and political
systems in the Western world have greater flexibility in
accommodating the ever-rising expectations of their citizens.
They can do this through the mechanism of the welfare state.
Developing countries can convince their Western counterparts
by establishing a comprehensive strategy with clear targets and
timeframes to deal with the complexity of their human rights
problems. Unfortunately, up till now, the Indonesian government
has not developed such a strategy. To be sure, some concrete
steps have been made but each of them tends to be independent of
the others.
The establishment of the National Commission on Human Rights,
for instance, has not been followed by steps to make the minority
political parties, the United Development Party and the
Indonesian Democratic Party more independent.
As far as a transition from authoritarian rule to a democratic
political system which respects human rights is concerned, the
South Korean model provides a good example for Indonesia. South
Korea has been pretty consistent in implementing comprehensive
political reform toward establishing a more humane relationship
between the governor and the governed.
It should come as no surprise that Indonesia has always taken
a defensive position in responding to international criticism on
its human rights record. Western leaders and human rights
activists want to see commitment and real action. Defense
mechanisms alone may never lead them into believing that the
government is serious about protecting the human rights of its
citizens.
Defensive diplomacy can easily lead us into an attitude of
self-righteousness. It tends to justify national policies by
referring to a rigid and narrow understanding of state
sovereignty. In this increasingly interdependent world more and
more nations are required to develop a new concept of
sovereignty. New literature on international relations has
introduced concepts like "reasonable sovereignty", "world
citizenship", "human governance" and "common heritage" among
others.
The problem of East Timor has become a complicated issue in
Indonesian diplomacy. No one can deny that the Indonesian
government has done its best to emancipate the East Timorese
people from their previous backwardness through economic
development. Over the last two decades the government has
allocated millions of U.S. dollars to develop this province.
However, a permanent solution to this dispute at the
international level has been as remote as ever.
Thus, there is something more than just an allocation of
development funds. The main issue is how to win the hearts of the
East Timorese. This is a challenge that the government should
face. If we fail to do this, then we would confront two stumbling
blocks at the same time: contentious East Timorese and a
dissatisfied international community. The prime casualty of such
failure would be Indonesia's international reputation and
credibility.
Last but not least, the global movement toward democratization
will require us to protect the human rights of our citizens. Our
success in this particular issue will determine the quality of
our diplomacy abroad. This is precisely the reason why Indonesia
needs a more comprehensive strategy in managing its human rights
issues.
The establishment of such a strategy will enable Indonesia to
produce more congruence between its diplomacy and domestic
policies. Conversely, the absence of such a strategy could make
Indonesian diplomacy even more vulnerable no matter how diligent
its diplomats might be.
The writer is the head of the school of international
relations at the University of Parahyangan, Bandung. He is also a
researcher at the Parahyangan Center for International Studies at
the same university.