U.S. troops in Indonesia

The March 20 edition of USA Today reported that officials in the administration of President George W. Bush planned to dispatch military troops to Indonesia. The plan was based on the Pentagon's report that dozens of al-Qaeda fighters had successfully fled Afghanistan and are now hiding in Indonesia.

The report of the deployment of troops to Indonesia was denied by the White House spokesman, who said there was no such plan.

USA Today published the story based on intelligence sources. Hence, it is difficult to obtain any further explanations because both the White House and the Pentagon have denied the story.

On several occasions Indonesia has been named as part of a network of international terrorists. But there has yet to be any public disclosure of evidence to prove this allegation. The allegation that al-Qaeda members have moved from Afghanistan to Indonesia, therefore, simply exaggerates the allegations.

The dispatch of any U.S. troops to Indonesia would certainly be strongly rejected by Indonesians. We will continue to follow a free-and-active foreign policy to avoid any foreign intervention in our domestic affairs.

The U.S. government has over the years limited its military cooperation with Indonesia on the grounds that the Indonesian Military has committed human rights violations. The sudden resumption of military ties would give the impression that the U.S. was ignoring this policy in an effort to obtain its objectives.

Nevertheless, there is no need to overreact to news of the plan, if it really exists, until things become more clear. Yet, we can say that we do not want Indonesia to become a center for terrorism, nor do we want foreign troops involved in handling any problems that may occur in our country.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta