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Experts say radicalism hampers Indonesia's public diplomacy
Public diplomacy used to introduce Indonesia as a democratic Muslim nation overseas had been hampered by the domestic social crisis with radical groups overshadowing the moderate, a seminar heard recently
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Public diplomacy used to introduce Indonesia as a democratic Muslim nation overseas had been hampered by the domestic social crisis with radical groups overshadowing the moderate, a seminar heard recently.
Efforts to highlight Indonesia as the largest Muslim-populated nation with third biggest democracy have been undermined with several reports of attacks against religious minorities, the Foreign Ministry's director general for information and public diplomacy, Andri Hadi, told a forum last Friday.
"Public diplomacy cannot work with dishonesty. We will never be able to change this image if the reality doesn't improve," said Andri during a public lecture at Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University, Jakarta.
The public lecture was also attended by Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a senior researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), and Rizal Sukma, the deputy executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), who addressed the forum on the role of public diplomacy in Indonesian foreign policy.
The public diplomacy directorate was established in 2002 aiming to engage the broader community and stakeholders to learn about and support Indonesia's national interests.
The directorate was there to bring people together, Andri said, both at home and abroad; to explain Indonesia's policies on people and nature so the world could shape a truthful perception of this country.
"We have hosted a couple of international religious forums to show the world the true face of our nation, namely the majority of our moderate religious people who are different from those in other parts of the world.
"However, all these efforts would be jeopardized with the threat of radicalism toward religious minorities."
Despite being home to world's largest Muslim population, Indonesia has tended toward national principle rather than religious cause in determining its foreign and domestic policies.
Andri said diplomacy was not meant to be propaganda, and that the only way for public diplomacy to work was to change the reality.
Indonesia had focussed too much on cultural diplomacy, such as through cultural exchanges under some short-term programs, which might not yield the expected results, Rizal Sukma said.
He said the government should instead turn to encouraging more overseas people to come here to learn about Indonesia, producing more Indonesian experts that could help familiarize people overseas with the true face of this country.
"We have been seeing more (Indonesian experts) in the past and it is feared that interest toward this country has been diminishing. I believe the cultural exchange mission is important, but it is much more important for us to have more Indonesian experts who truly understand the roots of our nation."
While the public diplomacy directorate had recorded some successes, it had also missed some targets; to underscore Indonesia as a moderate Muslim nation, Dewi Fortuna said.
"Indonesia has proved to the world that Islam and democracy can be compatible, and we are proud in becoming a model democratic Muslim nation for other countries by hosting international religious forums," she said.
However, she said, such forums needed to be backed up by addressing the issue of radicalism which had been grabbing headlines more than Indonesia's success as the third largest democracy in the world.
