RI firmer on Korea, shuns role on Iraq
RI firmer on Korea, shuns role on Iraq
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
President Megawati Soekarnoputri met North Korean President Kim
Yong-Nam here on Sunday as part of Indonesia's efforts to help
defuse the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, but was poised to shun
a proactive role in the Iraq issue.
During her one-hour meeting with Kim ahead of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Megawati urged him to
permit multilateral talks to overcome the Korean crisis, as a
crisis could jeopardize peace in the region.
Kim was, however, opposed to the suggestion by Megawati, who
offered to mediate in the crisis.
"North Korea wants the problem settled through a bilateral
dialog with Washington on an equal footing," Minister of Foreign
Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said after the meeting.
He said Pyongyang's insistence showed that the positions held
by North Korea and the U.S. remained "far apart", as Washington
wanted to bring the issue to the UN Security Council.
"Therefore, there is a need for third parties to hold talks
with both sides so they would agree to sit together and discuss
the issue equably," he said.
Megawati also called for a peaceful solution to the
Iraqi crisis, underlining that war would only cause devastation
to the world.
Speaking before the Indonesian community in Malaysia, she
hoped the two-day NAM summit would yield a strong message of
peace for the U.S. to abort its war plan.
However, Megawati had no plan for similar talks with top Iraqi
officials attending the NAM summit, to put persuasive pressure on
Baghdad to disarm in order to help foil an imminent attack.
Many analysts and politicians in Jakarta have strongly
demanded that Indonesia play a proactive, mediative role in the
Iraq issue as it was so doing in the Korean crisis.
Smith Alhadar, vice president of the Indonesian Society for
Middle East Studies (ISMES), told the Megawati-led government to
step up its diplomatic efforts to help end the Iraqi crisis.
Indonesia should take advantage of its being the world's
largest Muslim nation by pushing for an end to the standoff
between the U.S. and Iraq, he said.
Smith said it was not enough for Indonesia to send an
interfaith mission overseas to spread Indonesia's message of
peace.
However, he added, Indonesia should also amicably pressure
Iraq to get rid of alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Similarly, Justice Party chairman Hidayat Nurwahid urged the
Indonesian delegates to establish strong solidarity among the 114
NAM members against a possible war on Iraq.
This was a significant moment for Indonesia to regain its
national dignity among the international community, by taking a
leading role among the NAM member countries, which make up two-
thirds of the UN, he was quoted by Antara as saying.
Indonesia was only trying to play a leading role in Asia to
settle the Korean crisis by sending a special envoy, Nana
Sutresna, to offer mediation in talks between Pyongyang and other
parties.
Many nations believe Indonesia could assist in the settlement
of the Korean crisis, as Jakarta has strong bilateral relations
with all involved parties.
"President Kim has expressed his appreciation for Indonesia's
good intention in supporting the efforts to defuse the crisis,
but underlined that there is a question of how the dialog can be
conducted between Pyongyang and Washington," Hassan said.
Citing the complexity of the Korean crisis, the minister
called on "other friendly countries" to urge both sides to put
aside their differences and engage in a dialog for peace.
Washington has demanded that North Korea renounce its nuclear
weapons ambitions, and has said this demand must be fulfilled
before the U.S. would agree to negotiations with Pyongyang, which
wanted a non-aggression treaty.
Also on Sunday, Megawati held talks with Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad to
discuss several bilateral problems and other issues with common
interests, such as Iraq and Palestine.