Religious leaders say RI cannot do without the U.S.
Religious leaders say RI cannot do without the U.S.
Bambang Nurbianto and Juniartha I., Jakarta/Denpasar
Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the
country's two biggest Muslim organizations, said on Sunday that
Indonesia had to maintain good relations with the United States
and its allies to help resuscitate its economy.
Nevertheless, they also urged that the government explain its
stance on the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan to both
militant groups in Indonesia and the United States and its allies
to avoid misunderstanding.
"If we cut our relations with the U.S., our country's economy
would collapse in less than two weeks. Then who will be
responsible?" said NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi after a meeting with
the organization's executives in Denpasar, Bali, on Sunday.
Hasyim said that without the U.S. and other Western countries
Indonesia could not implement its economic recovery programs.
But the government should also take into account the interests
of domestic groups, especially those of Muslims.
"The government should explain to radical groups what it can
do and cannot do in responding to the U.S. attacks based on the
national interest," Hasyim said.
Muhammadiyah chairman Syafi'i Maarif concurred and urged the
government to explain the difficult position it found itself in
to the United States and other western countries.
"I think we have now many career diplomats, we hope that they
will do their best to explain our position," he told The Jakarta
Post on Sunday.
He acknowledged that the government was facing a dilemma in
deciding how to respond to the U.S. attacks.
"On the one hand Indonesia needs aid from the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and donor countries, but on the
other hand, Indonesia cannot come to terms with the U.S. military
operations in Afghanistan," he said.
NU is the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia with about
40 million members across the country while Muhammadiyah is the
second largest with some 30 million members.
Hasyim said the government should balance maintaining good
relations with the U.S. and its allies and the interests of
Muslims.
"The government must tolerate demonstrations condemning the
U.S. attacks as long as they do not create violence. It is all
right to hold rallies, but clashes between protesters and police
officers should be avoided," Hasyim said .
He admitted that the calls for jihad had affected NU grassroot
members, but stressed that for the NU a jihad did not only mean
holy war or joining in the combat.
"Sending used clothes to help refugees in Afghanistan is also
a jihad," Hasyim said.
Separately, former foreign minister Alwi Shihab said Indonesia
needed an intensive diplomatic campaign to explain its stance on
the Afghanistan crisis not only to the U.S., but also to other
countries that had special ties with the U.S., such as Canada,
Britain, and Australia.
Alwi said Indonesia could not afford worsening relations with
the U.S. and its close allies.
"I don't think we are ready to live any poorer than we are
now. [Without their help] how many more people will lose their
jobs?" said Alwi, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Nevertheless, both Alwi and Syafi'i expressed their optimism
that the U.S. would not easily resort to imposing economic
sanctions against Indonesia as the U.S. also did not want to see
the Indonesian economy collapse.