`RI-U.S. ties remain intact despite war'

`RI-U.S. ties remain intact despite war'

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda believes that Indonesia's stance
opposing the United States' decision to attack Iraq will not harm
bilateral ties between the two countries as Washington is aware
that Jakarta has to stick by its antiwar principles.

Hassan said on Thursday that the war concerned international
affairs and was not a bilateral issue between Indonesia on the
one side and the U.S. and its allies on the other.

"I believe that the United States, Britain and Australia view
the problem as an international issue and not as bilateral
problems between each of these countries and us," Hassan
remarked.

"This is an international matter and is related to certain
principles such as opposition to war and support for
multilateralism."

Hassan was speaking to reporters after accompanying President
Megawati Soekarnoputri during a press conference when she
addressed the Iraq issue at the State Palace.

Hours after the first U.S. strike on Iraq, Megawati announced
that Indonesia "strongly deplores" the attacks and called them
"an act of aggression".

It was the strongest statement Indonesia has made against the
U.S. in years. There have also been demands for the government to
severe ties with Washington following the strikes.

Although acknowledging that keeping cordial relations with
Washington was crucial for the ongoing economic recovery, Jakarta
insisted on Thursday that the use of military force to disarm
Iraq violated the principle of multilateralism.

"This country supports multilateralism and opposes any efforts
to sideline the United Nations. This has been our stance since
the beginning of the crisis," Hassan underlined.

Political analyst Juwono Sudarsono said Megawati's statement
clearly reflected Jakarta's standpoint rejecting the war.

"The U.S. should have been aware that its attack on Iraq would
illicit such a reaction," he told The Jakarta Post.

The U.S. strike on Baghdad, which began on Thursday morning,
has once again placed Indonesia in a difficult position --
whether to put more weight on bilateral relations with the U.S.
and its allies, or to respond to the demands of domestic
constituents.

Washington's influence in the International Monetary Fund,
from which Jakarta is seeking financial assistance, and the fact
that it is one of the largest investors in the country, make it
clear that it would be pointless to damage relations with the
U.S.

Indonesia also greatly depends on the U.S. for military
equipment and weaponry.

In 2001 when Afghanistan came under U.S. attack, newly
appointed President Megawati merely said she was "gravely
concerned" over the attack.

It was only after huge domestic pressure was brought to bear
on her administration that Megawati dared to say she deplored the
attack. Indonesia's stronger stance against the U.S. led to a
period of uneasy relations between the two countries.

Analysts had expected that Megawati would be circumspect in
responding to the U.S. attack on Iraq.

"We are fully aware of rising anxiety that the statement could
damage ties between Indonesia and these countries, but at this
point we have to underline our basic stance," Hassan stressed.

Ties between Jakarta and Washington slumped to their lowest
ebb in the early 1960s during the administration of founding
president Sukarno, who is Megawati's father.