Shadows on the wall for President Susilo

Shadows on the wall for President Susilo

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post/New York

British Prime Minister Tony Blair shook hands with President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in front of the United Nations Security
Council office on Thursday (local time) and softly said,"God
bless you" to Susilo after a photo session.

The President was all-smiles after finishing the 30-minute
bilateral talks with Blair at the office.

At the talks, Susilo won Blair's support for the peace
agreement between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
after he received similar encouragement from U.S. President
George W. Bush a day earlier.

On Thursday, there was to be another bonus. U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice was expected to pay a courtesy hotel call
to the President on Thursday evening. All strictly diplomatic, of
course.

Winning international support for the Helsinki peace deal is
certainly important for Susilo, who needs international
recognition for the deal to harden support for the idea at home
and silence the factions trying to capitalize on opposition to
it.

The President has vowed not to repeat Indonesia's mistakes
that led to the 1999 independence of East Timor by resolving the
real roots of Aceh's rebellion against the central government.

Susilo was clearly proud to be seated next to Bush a day
earlier during a working luncheon hosted by UN secretary-general
Kofi Annan and a photo opportunity with Blair was another plus.

However, the President may not have realized he was standing
with Blair in front of a picture of a smiling Timor Leste
President Xanana Gusmao, while a very real Timor Leste foreign
minister and Xanana's representative at the summit, Jose Ramos-
Horta, stood slightly to his side.

The picture on the wall was of Xanana and Kofi Annan during
the flag-raising ceremony at the United Nations headquarters,
marking the admission of Timor Leste as the 191st member of the
world body.

The picture hung in the corridor along with other pictures of
self-determination referendums in other countries.

For the Indonesians who noticed, this was a moment pregnant
with symbolism. Could Aceh, we wondered, follow Timor Leste's
path if the situation there was again allowed to deteriorate into
violence?

Would future Indonesian presidents at future UN summits end up
standing in front of the UN's latest member country, the
Independent Republic of Aceh?

With the deal still in its infancy, Susilo and his government
have a lot of work to do.

Blair's "God bless you," was a nice gesture, but perhaps he
could have added "God help you" too.