CNSNews, November 14, 2001
Indonesia Ponders Peacekeeping Role In Afghanistan
By Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim
country, is willing to participate in a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan if
asked, according to government officials.
Religious leaders have also approved such a step, saying it was in line with
Indonesia's desire to see the U.N. bring the war in Afghanistan to an end.
Some, however, have questioned the wisdom of sending troops abroad when the
security situation at home is far from tranquil.
Anti-Taliban forces entered the Afghan capital, Kabul, Tuesday, prompting
international calls for the swift deployment of a multinational force to maintain stability
while attempts continue to build a broad-based, widely-acceptable government.
The U.S. wants to see moderate Muslim nations leading the operation, to dispel any
perception that westerners are occupying the country. Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Jordan are other countries set to participate.
With the start of Ramadan just days away, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries
continue to call for the bombardment to end during the Muslim fast month. But U.S.
ambassador to Indonesia Ralph Leo Boyce warned this week it would be difficult to do
so.
Jakarta expressed support for the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism following the
Sept. 11 terror attacks, but has opposed the bombing of Afghanistan. Militant groups
have led public protests, although the government has kept them in check.
Indonesia's security minister, Bambang Yudhoyono, said Wednesday his country was
willing to take part in "a mission to solve the problems of Afghanistan."
As early as the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Shanghai last month,
Secretary of State Colin Powell had made the suggestion during talks with his
Indonesian counterpart, Bambang said.
Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno said after a cabinet meeting Indonesia would
participate in a mission if asked to do so by the U.N.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wahid Supriyadi linked Jakarta's willingness to
contribute to its stance all along that "the situation in Afghanistan must be settled by
the U.N. in a proper way to avoid further victims from the ranks of innocent civilians."
Some Muslim leaders welcomed the move. A spokesman for the Indonesian Ulemas
Council - the country's senior Islamic authority, which strongly opposed the strikes
against Afghanistan - said Indonesian participation would be consistent with
government policy, which called for an active U.N. role in halting the war.
But Solahuddin Wahid, co-chairman of a traditionalist Islamic movement Nahdlatul
Ulama, which is associated with former President Abdurrahman Wahid, was quoted
as saying the government should concern itself with the national security problem at
home before sending troops to Afghanistan.
Abuses
Although Indonesian troops have participated in peacekeeping efforts before - from
Suez in 1957 to Bosnia up to 1999 - the military also has a long history of repression,
from massacres of suspected communists in the 1960s to human rights abuses
against East Timorese and separatists in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
In Maluku province, where thousands have died in Muslim-Christian clashes since
1999, security forces have been accused of colluding with Muslims.
While the East Timor situation has been resolved, violent unrest continues in Aceh,
Irian Jaya and Maluku.
Mark Rolls, a specialist in Indonesian politics at New Zealand's Waikato University,
said the international community has long been concerned about the state of the
Indonesian military.
Troops were underpaid and there was a "degree of ill-discipline." Senior officers also
differed over how to handle internal peacekeeping operations, with some saying
dissent should be suppressed at all costs, while others are less comfortable about
doing so.
Some senior officers had been undergoing training in the West in an attempt to
modernize their outlook, but this process had largely been suspended after violence
erupted in East Timor following a 1999 independence referendum.
Asked whether Indonesia could afford to contribute to Afghanistan peacekeeping with
continuing problems at home, Rolls said it depended on the size of the deployment.
It was likely, he added, that the Jakarta government would offer troops "as a
statement," in a bid to deflect criticism at home that it had not been outspoken
enough in its criticism of the bombing of Afghanistan.
"This may be a gesture [aimed at internal critics], a way of saying, we're now
prepared to go in and help our fellow Muslims."
Even with the internal problems facing Indonesia, it could probably afford to release a
light battalion of 500 troops plus logistical support, according to Dr. Jim Rolfe of the
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.
"Ultimately, Indonesia is going to have solve its internal problems politically rather
than militarily and a number of the senior generals recognize that," he said.
"Most military decisions are based on doing the least bad option rather than the best,
and another question would be, 'can Indonesia afford not to take part' if there is a
substantial international Muslim community peacekeeping effort? My guess is that
they would want to be involved," Rolfe said.
He agreed that the bulk of the Indonesian military was not particularly well trained, but
said there were "pockets of excellence," such as the Special Forces. "Indonesian
troops have participated with merit in UN operations, in Cambodia for example. They
are probably no less suitable than troops from many of the countries that will take
part."
Rolfe said he thought Indonesians would have a valuable role to play in Afghanistan,
as they would probably be more acceptable culturally than westerners.
At the same time, he added, "there is also a place for western forces if this is to be
the community of nations working at nation-building."
Jakarta had diplomatic relations with Afghanistan until the Taliban captured control of
most of the country, vacating its embassy in Kabul for security reasons in 1996.
After the Taliban seized power in Kabul, only three countries recognized it as
Afghanistan's legitimate government and maintained embassies there - Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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