U.S. envoy calls for RI role in postwar Iraq

U.S. envoy calls for RI role in postwar Iraq

Berni K. Moestafa and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Indonesia should participate in the reconstruction of Iraq,
said the United States Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce on
Friday, as countries worldwide scrambled for a share of lucrative
contracts to rebuild postwar Iraq.

When asked whether Indonesia should take part in the
reconstruction of Iraq, Boyce said, "Sure, I think Indonesia has
a role to play."

"It's very important that Indonesia plays a role because of
Indonesia's position as one of the world's largest countries, an
emerging democracy," the ambassador said at a press briefing on
Friday.

Boyce would not go into details as to in which areas Indonesia
could play a role in the reconstruction.

"Obviously, (Indonesia) has a lot of its own problems and
resource constraints, but to the extent that Indonesia can take
part in helping Iraq, everybody would welcome that, especially
the Iraqi people," he said.

Many other countries are vying for a role in the postwar
reconstruction.

After the collapse of the Iraqi government, world attention
has shifted toward who should lead the reconstruction.

With much of its infrastructure damaged during three weeks of
war, many companies are rubbing their hands over future
construction contracts in the oil-rich country.

Even governments that have opposed the war are now claiming a
stake in Iraq, fearing that the coalition forces would divide the
contracts among themselves and leave others out in the cold.

This has been one reason why governments, including Indonesia,
have been pushing for a dominant United Nations role in postwar
Iraq.

Many have said that a UN-led transition of Iraq would lend
legitimacy to the new government that would replace the
dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein.

The U.S. initiated the war without the consent of the UN
Security Council. The U.S. government decided to go ahead with
the war without UN authorization after having failed to win
enough support among council members.

Jakarta has thus labeled the war illegal, and still recognizes
Saddam Hussein as the legitimate Iraqi head-of-state.

Although the dust has yet to settle in Iraq, 58 countries have
already voiced their interest in participating in its
reconstruction, said U.S. State Secretary Colin L. Powell on
Thursday.

He asserted that the UN would play a vital role, but
statements from U.S. senior officials indicated this would be
largely non-political in nature.

Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said
on Friday, "The President said we must move forward with our
diplomatic efforts to ensure that the UN will not be sidelined in
the postwar process."

Hassan said Jakarta would wait for the situation in Iraq to
clear up before examining the options for a postwar role.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has called on countries worldwide to close
down Iraqi Embassies and to expel their ambassadors.

Hassan said Indonesia has not yet received such a request, but
would reject it nevertheless. "The Iraqi Embassy will stay as it
is, and remain here to take care of the more non-political
issues," he said.

Iraq has no ambassador in Indonesia and its mission is headed
by Charge d'Affaires Naji Al Hadithi. Al Hadithi could not be
reached for comment, but a staff member said the embassy had long
lost contact with Baghdad.