Where Is Indonesia Being Dragged Into America's Premanism Drama?

THE WORLD WITNESSES ONCE AGAIN A MAJOR TRAGEDY REVEALING THE TRUE FACE OF GLOBAL POLITICS: POWER THAT SPEAKS IN THE NAME OF PEACE, BUT MOVES THROUGH BOMBS, MISSILES, AND DEATH. THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL’S JOINT MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST IRAN ON 28 FEBRUARY 2026 IS NOT MERELY A REGIONAL CONFLICT, BUT A GEOPOLITICAL EVENT THAT SHAKES THE CONSCIENCE OF HUMANITY.

THE MAJOR MILITARY OPERATION KILLED THE SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN, AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMANEI, ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF OFFICIALS AND CIVILIANS, AND REOPENED OLD WOUNDS ABOUT WHO ACTUALLY CONTROLS THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER TODAY. IN THE MIDST OF THIS TRAGEDY, THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS MUST BE ASKED OF INDONESIA: WHERE DOES OUR NATION’S MORAL POSITION AND IDENTITY LIE?

INDONESIA WAS NOT BORN AS A SATELLITE STATE OF ANY WORLD POWER. THIS REPUBLIC WAS BUILT FROM THE BLOOD OF RESISTANCE TO IMPERIALISM. THE FOUNDING FATHERS DID NOT BUILD INDONESIA TO BE SUBMISSIVE TO ANY GLOBAL POWER — EITHER EAST OR WEST. THE PRINCIPLE OF A FREE AND ACTIVE FOREIGN POLICY IS NOT AN EMPTY DIPLOMATIC SLOGAN, BUT AN EXISTENTIAL STATEMENT THAT INDONESIA WILL ANSWER ONLY TO TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND ITS OWN NATIONAL INTERESTS.

HOWEVER, TODAY’S REALITY SHOWS A DANGEROUS HESITATION. INDONESIA SEEMS TO BE DRIFTING FURTHER INTO THE ORBIT OF UNITED STATES INTERESTS, EVEN AS THE ACTIONS OF THAT STATE ARE CLEARLY QUESTIONED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIMSELF WARNED THAT THE MILITARY ESCALATION AGAINST IRAN COULD VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TRIGGER A LARGER GLOBAL CONFLICT.

IF THE WORLD ITSELF DOUBTS THE LEGITIMACY OF THOSE ACTIONS, WHY DOES INDONESIA SEEM TO HESITATE TO TAKE A FIRM STANCE? NOW IS THE MOMENT FOR PRESIDENT PRABOWO SUBIANTO TO UNDERSTAND ONE FUNDAMENTAL POINT: A PRESIDENT MAY MAKE POLITICAL DECISIONS, BUT MUST NOT ACT IN THE NAME OF INDONESIA IF THOSE DECISIONS CLASH WITH THE NATION’S IDEOLOGY. INDONESIA IS NOT THE PROPERTY OF A REGIME, NOR OF A CABINET, NOR AN INSTRUMENT OF GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY OF ANY SUPERPOWER. INDONESIA IS A MANDATE OF HISTORY.

INDONESIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN A STRUCTURE CALLED THE BOARD OF PEACE — A FORUM PROMOTED UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DONALD TRUMP — HAS BECOME A SERIOUS ISSUE. THE NAME ‘PEACE’ SOUNDS NOBLE, BUT GLOBAL REALITY SHOWS AN ALMOST TRAGIC IRONY. HOW CAN A PEACE INSTITUTION BE LED BY A POWER THAT AT THE SAME TIME LAUNCHES A LARGE-SCALE AND OPEN MILITARY OPERATION?

THE MAJLIS ULAMA INDONESIA EVEN JUDGES THAT THE AMERICAN-ISRAELI AGGRESSION AGAINST IRAN HAS LED THE BOARD OF PEACE TO LOSE ITS MORAL LEGITIMACY AS A GLOBAL PEACE INSTRUMENT.

THE MEANING OF PEACE BECOMES EMPTY RHETORIC WHEN BOMBS ARE DROPPED IN THE NAME OF STABILITY. THE WORD ‘PEACE’ LOSES MEANING WHEN MILITARY FORCE BECOMES THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE OF DIPLOMACY.

FURTHERMORE, AMERICA’S PREVIOUS ACTIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA — REPORTEDLY INVOLVING THE ARREST OF PRESIDENT NÚMERO(s) MADURO IN A GEOPOLITICAL ENERGY-INTEREST OPERATION — SHOW A PATTERN OF POWER THAT NO LONGER RESPECTS THE SOVEREIGNTY OF OTHER NATIONS.

THE WORLD IS ENTERING A NEW PHASE: A PHASE IN WHICH INTERNATIONAL LAW YIELDS TO MILITARY POWER. WILL INDONESIA REMAIN SILENT?

THE MATTER BECOMES MORE SERIOUS AS THE INDONESIA–AMERICA ECONOMIC RELATIONS BEGIN TO TOUCH UPON DOMESTIC SOVEREIGNTY. A TRADE AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWS CERTAIN AMERICAN-DERIVED PRODUCTS TO ENTER WITHOUT THE HALAL CERTIFICATION OBLIGATION FROM THE NATIONAL AUTHORITIES IS NOT MERELY A TRADE ISSUE. IT IS A SYMBOL OF THE SURRENDER OF STATE AUTHORITY TO EXTERNAL PRESSURE.

HALAL IS NOT JUST A RELIGIOUS MATTER. IT IS A FORM OF A NATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEM PROTECTED BY LAW. WHEN THAT STANDARD CAN BE NEGOTIATED FOR FOREIGN INTERESTS, WHAT IS AT STAKE IS NOT JUST THE MARKET — BUT THE DIGNITY OF THE NATION.

A GREAT NATION DOES NOT SELL ITS PRINCIPLES FOR THE SAKE OF DIPLOMATIC COMFORT. INDONESIA MUST PROMPTLY TAKE A CLEAR AND COURAGEOUS STANCE: EXIT THE BOARD OF PEACE. NOT AS AN ACT OF HOSTILITY TOWARDS ANYONE, BUT AS A DECLARATION THAT INDONESIA REJECTS THE HYPOCRISY OF GEOPOLITICS THAT USES PEACE AS A MASK FOR DOMINANCE.

HISTORY SHOWS THAT A NATION THAT LOSES ITS MORAL COURAGE LOSES ITS CIVILISATIONAL DIRECTION. WHEN A STATE CHOOSES TO REMAIN SILENT IN FACE OF GLOBAL INJUSTICE, THAT SILENCE ITSELF BECOMES A SECRET APPROVAL.

INDONESIA MUST NOT BE A COWARD IN WORLD HISTORY. WE ONCE LED THE ASIAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE. WE ONCE SPOKE FOR OPPRESSED NATIONS. WE ONCE STOOD TALL AGAINST THE GLOBAL POWER BLOCK THROUGH THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT. THE WORLD ONCE SAW INDONESIA AS A GLOBAL SOUTH MORAL COMPASS.

TODAY, THAT COMPASS SEEMS TO WOBBLE.

THE ATTACK ON IRAN — WHATEVER ITS STRATEGIC JUSTIFICATION — HAS SHOWN THAT THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM IS STILL DOMINATED BY THE LOGIC OF POWER, NOT JUSTICE. EVEN COUNTRIES LIKE BRAZIL OPENLY CALL FOR RESPECT FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW AND SELF-RESTRAINT TO PREVENT WAR ESCALATION.

IF OTHER NATIONS DARE TO SPEAK OUT, WHY DOES INDONESIA CHOOSE TO HESITATE FOR TOO LONG? NATIONAL LEADERSHIP IS TESTED NOT IN SAFETY BUT WHEN POLITICAL RISKS ARISE. THE PRESIDENT OF INDONESIA MUST LEAD THIS NATION TOWARD STRATEGIC AUTONOMY — A SELF-RELIANT ECONOMY, A DEFENCE DIPLOMACY THAT IS FREE FROM FOREIGN INTERFERENCE, AND A CONSISTENT INTERNATIONAL STANCE WITH PANCASILA.

STANDING ON ONE’S OWN FEET IS NOT OUTDATED SUKARNO RHETORIC. THIS IS AN EXISTENTIAL NEED OF THE 21st CENTURY. POLITICAL DEPENDENCE ON GREAT POWERS WILL ONLY TURN INDONESIA INTO A MARKET, NOT A PLAYER; A FOLLOWER, NOT A SHAPER.

INDONESIA MUST BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SAY: NOT ALL WASHINGTON DECISIONS SHOULD BECOME JAKARTA’S INTERESTS.

NOT ALL GLOBAL AGENDAS SHOULD BE IMPOSED AS NATIONAL AGENDA. AND NOT ALL LABELS OF PEACE TRULY BRING PEACE.

If Indonesia continues to allow