RI's 'sporadic' foreign policy must go back to 'free and active'

 http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20061110.B08&irec=7

November 10, 2006

Avian E. Tumengkol, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the Democrats back in power in the House and Senate after 12 years, Indonesia may find it necessary to revive its traditional "free and active" foreign policy, an analyst says, given the party's bent on human rights issues.

Although the government officially states its foreign policy is independent of alliances, or "free and active", Suzie Sudarman, the director of the American Studies Center at the University of Indonesia (UI), said the policy lately had been "tinged with too much religiosity".

Suzie said Indonesia was striving to be a model Muslim democratic nation to other Muslim countries as part of the U.S. war on terror.

"If the Democratic Congress pursued issues such as the trial of perpetrators of the East Timor violence or begins questioning the plight of Papua or the rights of religious minorities, Indonesia will feel compelled ... to return to its original construct: 'diplomacy of struggle' and will look for allies ...," she said in an e-mail interview.

Suzie, however, said Indonesia need not worry too much about the changes brought by the U.S. midterm election, "if we constantly keep our house in order by turning Indonesia into a governed system that is just and prosperous".

Suzie said Democrats would compel the country to implement human rights and environmental protections and improve law enforcement "to invigorate its economic potentials".

"We need to swiftly change our own rule by folly, to avoid becoming the constant focus of any American politician trying to make political hay out of Indonesia's perennial incompetence and mismanagement", Suzie wrote to The Jakarta Post.

A former Asia Foundation fellow who worked with the U.S. Congress, Smita Notosusanto, said Indonesia had always been too easily influenced by the U.S., whichever party led Congress.

Smita, a lecturer on international relations at UI, said Democrats might lead a policy review on military cooperation, which could hurt Indonesia's interests.

"In general, Indonesia is not even on their (U.S.) list of priorities," she said. Indonesia was, however, "on top" of countries that had become "victims" of U.S. foreign policy, she said.

Although Indonesian envoys have described relations with the U.S. as "dramatically improving", Smita said the "strategic partnership" between the U.S. and Indonesia was largely based on Indonesia's expectations of material benefits.

Trade here, was a vital issue, she said.

The U.S. has been increasingly active in sponsoring economic development and guarantees of military security for Indonesia.

The war on terror and combating Islamic radicalism have been top priorities for both countries.

A senior Indonesian diplomat said given the current international circumstances, changes in basic U.S. foreign policy were unlikely, particularly on terrorism and drug trafficking.

Makarim Wibisono, Indonesia's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, said U.S. foreign policy would likely be focused on helping countries, including Indonesia, to join the war on terror by promoting free trade agreements; ensuring foreign assistance programs did not perpetuate "bad" policies, and better organizing efforts to offer technical security assistance.

"The United States' move towards democracy and moderation has led and, at the same time, placed Indonesia at the forefront of the international stage, coincidentally with the global efforts to combat and solve those international problems," said Makarim, who previously served as a diplomat to the U.S.

A former U.S. diplomat to Indonesia said changes here would end up being more important than changes in the American government.

"On human rights, the big change is not in domestic U.S. policies, but in an improvement in the human rights situation in Indonesia. No longer having the then-East Timor as an issue is a major factor," Barbara Harvey, the former U.S. deputy chief of mission to Indonesia, told the Post.