Susilo must explain his overseas trips

Susilo must explain his overseas trips

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post

Traveling overseas on presidential flights is always very
pleasant for the accompanying entourage. And this, of course, is
not just because they are all entitled to receive a daily
allowance in U.S. dollars from the state coffers, or that they
can order instant Pop Mie noodles from the very helpful Garuda
attendants.

More than anything else, they are on a mission to boost both
foreign investment into Indonesia and Indonesian exports. And to
hear the reassurances of foreign leaders that they respect highly
the territorial integrity of Indonesia.

Who would not be proud to see our president appearing on CNN,
being hugged by the U.S. president during a bilateral meeting at
the White House, or during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) summit? Before attending the APEC summit, our presidents,
from Soeharto to newly elected President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, instructed their foreign minister to ensure that they
got a meeting with the U.S. president. But even better if the
foreign minister can announce that "the meeting is on the
initiative of the White House".

The Indonesian media, especially TVRI and radio station RRI,
often like to emphasize how foreign leaders admire our leaders,
as reflected in the very busy schedule of the Indonesian leader
receiving courtesy calls from his or her guests.

During the APEC summit in Vancouver, Canada, in 1997, just
several months before his downfall, Soeharto was particularly
eager to meet with U.S. president Bill Clinton. It was certain
that Clinton would not come to his hotel, and Soeharto also would
not be willing to meet Clinton at his hotel. So a neutral place
had to be found.

President Susilo left for Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, to
attend the APEC summit. Among others, this summit will be
attended by nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, Mexico and the
United States. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda has
announced that Susilo will meet with U.S. President George W.
Bush on the sidelines of the summit.

As a courtesy Bush will almost certainly say to Susilo,
"Congratulations on your election as president!" And Susilo will
reply, "Congratulations to you too on your re-election!" At least
one official state photographer and one official state cameraman
will take their pictures, though the public will probably never
see them.

The President and his entourage is scheduled to arrive home on
Tuesday. Less than a week later, the President will then have to
fly to Vientiane, Laos, to attend the annual ASEAN summit.
Leaders of China, Japan, South Korea and India are expected to be
guests at this regional summit.

The visit to Chile will be Susilo's first official overseas
tour, although the President last week went to Cairo, Egypt, to
attend the funeral service of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The Cairo visit was laudable because as the leader of the world's
most populous nation he demonstrated Indonesia's strong support
for the independence struggle of the Palestinians. However, the
Cairo visit was criticized by a prominent Muslim scholar because
the President was accompanied only by Muslim leaders, sending an
erroneous message that Palestine is just a religious issue.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with the President going on
these overseas trips. During the multilateral summits in
particular he will have the opportunity to introduce himself to
other world leaders.

It would be hoped, however, that the reason for such travel be
explained properly to the nation before his departure. During the
presidential election campaign, Susilo himself repeatedly
promised that he would not travel abroad during his first 100
days of his government. The public applauded the promise, because
they were fed up with Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman
Wahid for their all-too-frequent overseas jaunts.

Many people perceived the visits of the previous two president
as nothing more than pleasure trips. What were the tangible
results of these trips? Did the enormous cost justify the
results? Abdurrahman and Megawati in fact received long lists of
promises from their hosts and from businesspeople that they would
invest more in Indonesia and that they would not support
separatist movements. Of course they also said that we should not
expect too much in the short term. However, when Indonesia is in
such difficulty, investment is required now, not later.

Many people would reasonably conclude that the President has
perhaps forgotten his own promise. So can the people still
believe his other promises, like an improved economy? Broken
promises have the potential to erode the President's credibility,
which at the moment is still high. Foreign minister Hassan should
talk to the public to convince them of the necessity of the
President's tour.

In many countries, leaders are often tempted to use foreign
affairs as a diversion from intractable and complex domestic
issues. Susilo has a high level of legitimacy in the
international community because he was directly elected by the
people. Just as importantly, Indonesia has given the world an
example that Islam can be compatible with democracy.

But these good feelings toward Indonesia will not last
forever, especially if Indonesia does not move ahead. President
Bush may well laud Indonesia for its toughness in combating
terrorism. But if the current killing of Muslims and Christians
in Poso, Central Sulawesi, continues as it is, how can Indonesia
honestly claim to be intolerant of terror? Foreign direct
investment will come of its own accord when Indonesia succeeds in
eliminating rampant corruption at all levels of government. As
long as our judges, prosecutors and police remain addicted to
bribes, who would dare invest their money here?

Without a doubt, the visits to Santiago and Vientiane are
important. It is regrettable, however, that the public has not
been properly informed on the reason that the President needed to
"break" his promise not to travel during his government's first
100 days. Indonesian diplomats and officials should not just be
busy preparing meeting lists and piles of summit documents; they
should also be facing the public and explaining to them the
tangible benefits Indonesia will obtain by its participation in
such multilateral meetings.