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Middle East troubles may dampen Obama visit
Facing criticism over his Middle East policy, US President Barack Obama will likely face a rough reception when he arrives in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country and a staunch supporter of an independent Palestine, say observers
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acing criticism over his Middle East policy, US President Barack Obama will likely face a rough reception when he arrives in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country and a staunch supporter of an independent Palestine, say observers.
Muslim leaders here also expressed concern over the US troop surge in Afghanistan, with many demanding the world’s biggest economy fulfill its pledge to engage Jakarta in its foreign agenda, especially over the Middle East peace process.
A discussion attended by Muslim leaders at the Muhammadiyah office in Jakarta on Thursday agreed that Obama must take a harder line against Israel, which had undermined peace commitments in the Middle East by declaring last week, during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit, that it would build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem.
While Indonesians will welcome Obama — he spent four years of his childhood in the country — he will have to answer tough questions about his administration’s stance on Israel in light of the latter’s defiance of his peace move.
Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said Indonesia must be critical of the US because of its double standards in human rights enforcement, its ambivalence toward the Palestine-Israel conflict and its war in Afghanistan.
“But it’s important to note that the US’ continuing role in Afghanistan and Iraq is due to the inability of those countries to take care of themselves,” Azyumardi said.
Israel’s plan to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers on West Bank land annexed to Jerusalem has raised tension between Israel and the US, and cast doubt over the US’ plans for indirect talks.
Although the new settlement was shunned by the US, Islamic communities here have pressed the Obama administration to show more concrete steps to counter the Israeli movement they likened to “testing the water ahead of new talks”.
Separately, Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi said Indonesia should maximize Obama’s visit by promoting the Muslim world’s agenda.
“But we will see whether Obama will be able to control Israel or not,” he said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah, however, said Obama had shown his commitment to engage Jakarta in the peace process in the Middle East and counterterrorism in Afghanistan despite the problems facing Washington.
“The exchange of views between Jakarta and Washington has seen increasing trends since President Obama assumed office a year ago,” he said.
Haedar Nashier, chairman of Muhammadiyah, doubted Faizasyah’s claim, saying US-Indonesian bilateral ties remained tense after Obama’s election because of distrust over US motives in Indonesia. “Jakarta stays in the periphery while the US is seen as the centric power controlling Jakarta’s domestic agenda,” he said.
“Jakarta depends on the US for counterterrorism, which is seen as our inability to act independently.”
Rizal Sukma, chief of Muhammadiyah’s center of foreign policy and executive director of Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the meeting between the two nations’ leaders was important because Jakarta could voice its disapproval of Washington’s worldwide agenda.
“We have the privilege to sound our concerns and we can represent other Muslim majority countries in this case.”
