President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s decision to “delay” his trip to the Netherlands for fear of being arrested for alleged human rights abuses is both mind-boggling and short-sighted. His rationale was unconvincing; it was highly unlikely that the arrest would have taken place.
It is a common practice in international diplomacy for nations to grant immunity to visiting foreign presidents. The Netherlands government said it would uphold Yudhoyono’s immunity and treat him as a most welcome guest.
Subsequent events proved that the President’s fears were groundless: A Netherlands court rejected the complaint filed by the exiled Republic of South Maluku (RMS) separatist group with a Dutch court.
The President’s decision, allegedly made to “protect the nation’s dignity”, quickly boosted the President’s standing and appeased the nationalist camp at home. In the long run, however, it will jeopardize the country’s relationship with the Netherlands.
In terms of territorial integrity, the President’s move has opened the door for separatist groups such as the RMS to manipulate the event for their own gain. The RMS, which is actually small in size, has had its stature increased after their complaint was met by an exaggerated response from Yudhoyono, the president of the world’s fourth-largest country. Yudhoyono’s reaction further boosted RMS’s international popularity.
The event further distanced Indonesia from the government of the Netherlands and its people and was detrimental for Indonesia’s efforts to shelve the Maluku separatist problem.
Yudhoyono should, therefore, try harder to keep good relations between the Indonesian and the Dutch governments intact while at the same time deterring the Dutch government and its people from aiding Maluku separatists – thus preventing the movement from escalating.
The delayed visit was also regrettable as it prevented the President from obtaining the Netherlands’ written recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty, which would have automatically cleared a diplomatic hurdle that has existed since the Netherlands handed over the archipelago to the Indonesian government in 1949.
The Netherlands, which colonized Indonesia for more than three centuries, has since never formally recognized the sovereignty of the Indonesian government, despite the 1949 round table conference that forced the Netherlands to surrender control of Indonesia.
If the President had continued with his visit, he also would have been able to improve Dutch understanding of Islam.
As the leader of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy, Yudhoyono has the credentials to speak on the subject of Islamic tolerance.
He could have also promoted Indonesia as a role model for Muslim countries. Islam in Indonesia is different from the conservative strain that is practiced in most Arab countries.
Last but not least, the President could have used the visit to boost economic cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands and tap more investment for Indonesia. According to the Indonesian Embassy’s website, the volume of trade between Indonesia and the Netherlands two years ago was US$3.9 billion and Indonesia enjoyed trade surplus of around $2 billion.
The Netherlands was the seventh-largest investor in Indonesia in 2008, and the second-largest EU investor in Indonesia in the same period.
The Netherlands is also noted as one of Indonesia’s largest sources of aid for education, governance, water management and other areas. Given the significant amount of the Dutch investment and aid in Indonesia, the minor diplomatic mishap that occurred after the incident should have been prevented.
The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.
