The Jakarta Post, May 23, 2007
RI faces difficulties over Kosovo
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda only offered a smile and avoided providing a
detailed explanation when queried about Indonesia's position on the issue of Kosovo's
independence, which is currently under discussion at the United Nations Security
Council.
"We haven't made any decisions as we are still discussing it," he said Tuesday after
launching the Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship Program at the Foreign Ministry
in Jakarta.
The minister's response, which comes after the initiation of an intense national debate
on the Kosovo issue and criticism of Indonesia's unclear position, seems to reflect the
dilemma Indonesia is currently facing.
"It will be difficult for Indonesia to choose whether to support or reject the proposal at
the UN Security Council (UNSC)," Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political expert at the
Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), told The Jakarta Post.
Indonesia is a non-permanent member of the UNSC.
Ikrar said the Indonesian Constitution mandates that the country support Kosovo's
right to independence, adding that the government is aware that gross human rights
violations occurred in the area. Conversely, he said, approving the proposal could
undermine Indonesia's own territorial integrity, especially in Papua and Aceh.
"It will become a precedent that an area can become independent should the UNSC
decide so. Approving the proposal will also deteriorate our relations with Serbia," he
said.
"But while we must clearly make sure that the issue has nothing to do with religion, it
is a fact that Kosovo is a majority-Muslim area. Muslims here will want Indonesia to
support Kosovo's independence."
After touring the area, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, the UN's special
envoy for Kosovo, submitted a proposal to the UNSC that basically seeks
independence for the already-autonomous region.
Recent reports by AP have alluded that separatist movements around the world, from
Spain's Basques to Iraqi Kurds, were closely watching the UN-approved secessionist
process.
In Indonesia, the matter could have a powerful impact on the two separatist-minded
provinces of Aceh and Papua, said Damien Kingsbury, a key adviser to the separatist
Free Aceh Movement.
Indonesia, which has already lost Timor Leste, "is always sensitive about issues
affecting territorial integrity, so it will be very worried," Kingsbury was quoted as
saying by AP recently.
However, Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of
Indonesia, disagreed with Kingsbury, insisting that Kosovo's independence would not
have a destabilizing effect on Indonesia's territorial integrity.
"Indonesia's territorial integrity has already been finalized and the international
community has recognized this. I think the Kosovo case cannot be applied to Papua
or Aceh because they are different. Also, people have already been mature enough to
see the cases," he told the Post.
Noted scholar A.S. Hikam of the National Awakening Party agreed that Kosovo's
independence would not have an impact on Indonesia.
"The government must support the proposal. Remember, gross human rights
violations and genocide have occurred in Kosovo. They have the right to
independence. It will be a violation of the Constitution if the government doesn't
support the proposal," he said.
Ikrar said the Foreign Ministry is wary of the potential destabilizing effect Kosovo's
independence could have here, and that Indonesia should abstain on the Kosovo
issue to ease domestic pressure, especially after the government was harshly
criticized by lawmakers and Islamic groups for its decision to support a recent UN
resolution imposing further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
