RI told to mix idealism, pragmatism on UNSC

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 01/31/2007 4:02 PM

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia must mix pragmatism with idealism on a case-by-case basis as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in order to serve both national interests and international peace and security, said members of a panel discussion Tuesday.

Veteran diplomat S. Wiryono argued that Indonesia should be pragmatic, weighing every international issue in terms of its benefits for the nation. Otherwise, he said, Indonesia's public would question whether membership in the council is worth the effort.

""After all, foreign policy is only an extension of domestic politics. The decisions should be in line with our national priorities in the political and economic fields,"" he told participants of the seminar concerning Indonesia's role on the council, which was held by the Foreign Ministry here Tuesday.

Wiryono added, however, that one of the main reasons Indonesia must be actively involved in international politics was to maintain international peace and security, as stated in the country's constitution. He said for that reason it should also strive to apply widely accepted international values to get a positive image and respect from the international community.

A fellow speaker, chief editor of The Jakarta Post Endy M. Bayuni, stressed the need for Indonesia to be both idealistic and pragmatic in its decisions on the UNSC.

""If we don't have idealism then we could fall into a double standard of behavior. The U.S. and other major powers can afford to apply double-standard politics because they have the capability to do so. We can't afford such policies,"" he said.

I Djoko Susilo, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission I, argued that the government should explain its actions at the Security Council to people at home, since most of them were not yet aware of international politics.

""For instance, it should be made clear why Indonesia decided to abstain on the Myanmar resolution while we uphold democratic and human rights values. People here should also be informed why we seemed to support a country that suppresses Muslims and forbids them going on the haj,"" he said.

An international relations expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Rizal Sukma, agreed that failing to vote for the Myanmar resolution could be seen by both domestic and international communities as supporting an undemocratic country that violates human rights. The resolution called on Myanmar to cease rights abuses and begin democratizing.

He underlined that as a moderately powerful country, Indonesia should be able to handle situations discussed at the Security Council on a case-by-case basis.

""As relations between major powers such as the U.S. and China include both competition and cooperation, we need to be clever at judging in which cases they are competing and in which other cases they're cooperating,"" Rizal said.

Indonesia, he said, could use its assets as a democratic country with the world's largest Muslim population to become a positive and moderate force for a better international system.

""Indonesia should also take the initiative rather than just responding to others' ideas. We must commit once we start an idea, however, because initiative without commitment can be seen as irresponsible,"" Rizal said.

Nugroho Wisnumurti, a former Indonesia representative at the UN, said Indonesia should be active in helping to resolve other international problems such as those in North Korea, Somalia, and Iran.

""We should, for instance, prevent the UN from passing a new, harsher resolution on Iran as the domestic public would find that difficult to accept,"" he said.

Kusnanto Anggoro of CSIS said Indonesia should also use second-track diplomacy by involving religious leaders and international groupings such the Organization of the Islamic Conference to help resolve problems in the Middle East, Somalia and Iran.

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