RI warned against backing oil embargo
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government must not follow calls to use the threat of an oil embargo against countries supporting Israel as it would only cause more damage to Indonesia, warned Subroto, a former energy minister and ex-OPEC secretary-general.
Subroto also said that it was unlikely for Saudi Arabia, the largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to support the call because it preferred a peaceful alternative.
"It will only do more harm to Indonesia," he told The Jakarta Post, pointing out that the U.S., seen as the primary supporter of Israel, could use its anti-terrorism campaign against Indonesia if it supports the oil embargo threat.
Iraq and Iran urged Arab nations and Muslim oil-producing countries on Tuesday to launch a concerted oil embargo to help force Israel out of Palestinian territory. The call was made at the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign ministers conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, and it is also a member of OPEC, which supplies more than 20 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to the 76 million bpd global market.
An oil embargo was last used by Arab nations in 1973 and that boosted oil prices and severely hit the economies of Western countries.
As the U.S. and other developed nations are struggling to lift themselves out of the current economic downturn, a jump in oil prices will have severe implications to these economies.
Oil prices steadied at six-month highs on Tuesday amid a cool response from oil countries to Iraq's threat to cut off supplies to the West.
International benchmark Brent crude oil was hovering at US$26.78 per barrel.
But OIC oil-producing members seemed to be less enthusiastic in supporting calls for an oil embargo.
"We have to be realistic when talking about using oil as a weapon. This is a double-edged sword that will do more harm to us than the United States both in the short term and in the long term," a Kuwaiti delegate told Reuters on the sidelines of the OIC conference.
Indonesian Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who attended the OIC meeting, also said that the use of oil as a weapon was "quite impossible".
"It is not easy to reach a consensus in OPEC on the oil price, it would be even more difficult to agree on an oil embargo. I think it would be quite impossible," he said.
Instead of supporting an oil embargo, the Indonesian government urged the United Nations Security Council to launch concrete efforts to deal with the heated situation in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said Indonesia was ready to support such actions under the auspices of the UN.
"We would like the security council to see through their own decisions. Indonesia will contribute ideas and support concrete efforts made by the security council," Marty told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The UN security council has issued Resolutions No. 242, 338 and 425, which acknowledge the existence of the Palestinian state and urge the Israelis to return land they have seized.
Recently, the UN security council issued a resolution urging a "meaningful cease-fire" and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from conflict-prone areas due to the heated situation in Ramallah.