Who foots the bill for peacekeepers?
Who foots the bill for peacekeepers?
From Republika
On Sept. 13, 1999, President B.J. Habibie invited a United Nations peacekeeping force to come to Indonesia's province of East Timor. The Sept. 14 editorial in Republika, titled National interest, said "world leaders favorably welcome the decision of the Indonesian government to invite the United Nations peacekeeping force to come to East Timor..."
If only Mr. President had restrained himself and had not offered the option of autonomy to the East Timorese prior to the upcoming 1999 General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly. If only the mechanism of consultation between the legislature, the House of Representatives, and the executive had run smoothly then we would not have lost our 27th province so quickly.
Well, anyway, you have made your bed, now you must lie in it. Man proposes, God disposes. As someone not directly involved in the policy on East Timor, I was struck by the use of the words "to invite" in the editorial.
When I was still an elementary school student, my teacher once told us that whoever extended an invitation would be responsible for the payment. I do not know whether Mr. Ali Alatas, who has been busy lobbying top UN officials about RI's suggestion on the composition of the peacekeeping force, is well aware of the standard practice involving extending invitations.
None of the five newspapers I read on Sept. 14 touched, let alone analyzed, the operational costs of the troops to be deployed in East Timor under the flag of a UN peacekeeping force. Our 23-year experience shows that over this period we have involved ourselves in "debates" in UN forums but we have never been able to bring world opinion to some understanding about the East Timor question. In the same way, I believe we can never succeed in rejecting Australia from entering East Timor under the flag of the peacekeeping force.
Therefore, am I wrong to assume that the debts sustained by the Indonesian people, now already in the billions of U.S. dollars, will become even greater because of the operational costs of the peacekeeping force during its assignment in East Timor. I am sure that, in a short time to come, Mr. Jabrik, the International Monetary Fund supervisor for Asia, will return to Jakarta to shake hands with Mr. President and say: "Good. Good! You're Mr. Brilliant for debit and credit. Your country is rich resources. Never mind..."
With a smile to show his "fangs", Mr. Jabrik will give its guarantee that although Indonesia is short of cash, the IMF will extend additional loans, most of which will be allocated to cover the operational costs of the UN peacekeeping force. So the debts that my progeny in the next two generations will have to sustain will be beyond 24 digits. Good gracious!
MUCHWARDI MUCHTAR
Bekasi, West Java