RI must pressure U.S. to publish road map on Palestine

RI must pressure U.S. to publish road map on Palestine

The following is an excerpt of an interview about the situation in Iraq, its global implications and its effect on Indonesia, with former foreign minister and President Megawati Soekarnoputri's adviser on foreign affairs, Ali Alatas, by The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba :

Question : As war in Iraq can no longer be stopped, what still can be done by the UN with regard to the issue?

Answer : We must continue to try and get the UN Security Council (UNSC), as well as the General Assembly to do something against this kind of action. But we should also realize that in the UNSC there is the veto. So, for example, after the end of discussion currently taking place in UNSC at the demand of the League of Arab states as well as of NAM, they have agreed to have an emergency session. But if a resolution is put forward at the end of the debate, asking, for example, to stop the war, to question the legality of the U.S. actions, there is always the possibility that it could be vetoed by the U.S., so that no concrete measure could be taken.

If that were the case, we would go to the General Assembly under the unity of a peace resolution, and ask for a special session of the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, and where each country has only one vote. There, whatever we propose in the resolution would most likely be supported by an overwhelming majority, but the negative side of a decision or resolution by the General Assembly is that it is not enforceable -- it is only a recommendation.

It is a form of moral pressure, true, but it cannot be enforced like an SC resolution. An SC resolution must be enforced; once the SC takes a resolution, the whole membership of the UN has to follow and implement it. So these are the things that we face in the coming days.

What can the government do to help the Iraqi people?

Our government will be active in trying to organize humanitarian aid for the people of Iraq. It is a good standpoint. However, people should realize that it is very difficult now; how do you get through to the Iraqi people directly, when the whole country is now in flames?

We are trying to work through the Jordan Red Cross for instance, to work together, but we do not know whether it can work. Again, there is a dilemma here also. If we send our humanitarian aid, say through do you mean Umm Qasr?, where the British and American are, then it might be misinterpreted as being via the Americans, as if we were sort of justifying the invasion or U.S. aggression. That is the dilemma.

How about the reconstruction and rebuilding of Iraq?

Regarding reconstruction as well as administration: Temporary administration is a matter for the UN, and not the U.S. The British are thinking in that direction, but how far they are going to go, and how far they will also be able to persuade the U.S., we do not know. But Indonesia, I think, should continue to say, "OK, maybe we cannot stop the war. But immediately, after the war ends, the UN should be given a dominant role: humanitarian aid, rehabilitation and administration."

The second thing is that we must continue to press for the U.S. to really publish its road map on Palestine, how to solve the Palestine problem. They promised to do so, but it should not be an empty promise, and it should be an implementable road map. Maybe it can be only implemented after the war, but we should continue to press for it from now on.

How can Indonesia press for it?

Through the UN, through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), through the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), through combining with all our friends, asking them to work together in pressing for this, because we believe, if indeed the U.S. road map is released and the U.S. is sincere and wanting to solve the problem of Palestine, in seeing two states -- Israel and Palestine.

Then we may not only be closer to a just solution for Palestine. If it is published or proclaimed now, it will be able to reduce the sense of frustration and anger throughout the world, which lies at the source of the reaction of many people over Iraq.

Many question why the U.S. has waged war against Iraq, while Israelis there are doing whatever they want. And they too have weapons of mass destruction. They even have nuclear power.

Do you believe the U.S. is serious?

All we can do is hope and continue to press because we don't know exactly how the road map will be implemented even if it is published. But we must continue to make sure that it is implemented.

A precedent has been created over Iraq: Do you think what happened in Iraq could also happen in North Korea?

This is one of the issues that now arises. Many people now realize and agree that this attack on Iraq is not only a matter of Iraq. It is a wider problem now, because it has set a dangerous precedent -- the preemptive strike. It is a direct challenge to multilateralism, a bypassing of the UN etc. And therefore the problem is much greater than Iraq itself.

This is an attack on the system of world governance, world order. It is a dangerous precedent, because today it is Iraq. If the doctrine of the preemptive strike is allowed to become established, then it could occur in any other country after Iraq.

Any unilateral move could be carried out by other countries, not only the U.S., against their enemies. That is why we must look, both in the short term, at how to resolve the Iraq problem through the UN, but also, in the long term, at the task before us to make sure that this challenge to the international order, to this system of world governance, is not allowed to develop unhindered.

Do you agree that North Korea will be the next immediate target?

Maybe, because North Korea is now another, urgent problem. But we do not know how that will develop. We cannot predict what will happen. But we have to watch it very carefully, because the tension over North Korea is much closer to home for us and is in our part of the world. If there is something wrong, the immediate political, security and economic impacts will felt particularly by ASEAN, by Indonesia.

Many agree that President Megawati's performance was more convincing than it was after the Sept.11 terror attacks. Your comment?

I think the statement by President Megawati was very good. It was very firm, balanced, and it reflected, to a large extent, the genuine feelings of our people. Yet, at the same time, the government has also urged our people to remain realistic, to remain rational. Demonstrations are fine, but don't let them become destructive, or even anarchic.

Our government has also given a guarantee that foreigners will not be in danger. We need to guarantee that because people would leave otherwise, and that would be a disaster for the economy and the political situation. We should also understand the feeling of common people who want to volunteer to fight in Iraq, who want diplomatic relations to be cut with Indonesia.

We understand the feeling, but our people should be made to understand that we have to remain cool and rational at all times.

As adviser to the President, What will be the direction of our foreign policy after the Iraq war?

First, let me say I am adviser to the President only on certain issues. Anyway, my personal view is that we must, in the short term, try to make sure that the war is either stopped or ended with the least possible damage to the Iraqi people and the country.

We must make sure that, no matter what happens, Iraqi integrity and sovereignty are respected. We will continue to protest the war, but we must be realistic: We will not be able to stop the war until its objectives are met. But that does not mean that we cannot try. Apart from that we must look forward to the medium and longer term, to ensure that Palestine will be the next issue to be resolved.