INDONESIA: After Iraq, View of U.S. Double Standards Sharpens

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Kafil Yamin

JAKARTA, Apr 24 2003 (IPS) - ”Terrifying”, more insecure, and certainly more unstable is how many Indonesians, from religious leaders here in the world’s most populous Muslim country to political leaders and scholars, describe the world after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

In the aftermath of the toppling of the Baathist government in Iraq, and the belligerence directed by the Bush administration at Syria, national figures like former president Abdurrahman Wahid are calling the situation "terrifying".

The former president, ousted by Indonesia’s parliament after a lengthy impeachment process involving charges of corruption in mid-2001, said that he expected the U.S. invasion to "create a more complicated situation in Iraq and in the Middle East".

Wahid, widely known as ‘Gus Dur’ in Indonesia, has said on television that the gravest threat to democracy comes from the U.S. action as it "oppresses and crushes Iraq in the name of freedom".

"From the beginning I did not trust that Iraq will be freer after the invasion," said Wahid on the popular Lativi television channel.

"How can Iraqi people trust in democracy if the campaigner (the United States) preserves authoritarian and oppressive rules in other countries?" he demanded. "The U.S. is not a good friend in democracy. It will push you aside, threaten you, and harm you if you don’t follow its line.”

His influence is considerable, and therein lies the importance of such a message. Wahid heads Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama, or revival of the ‘ulama’ (religious leaders), which draws support from an estimated 30 million members primarily in the rural areas of Java.

Wahid’s view is not unique. The chairman of the Indonesian Ulama Council, which is among the country’s most important religious bodies, is equally blunt. "The U.S. is creating security for Israel and is taking control of Iraqi oil," said Din Syamsuddin, chairman of the council.

"It is also clear," he added, "that Israeli troops will be much more oppressive against the Palestinians after the invasion of Iraq. This is a serious threat to Muslim countries."

Such views are not just limited to religious organisations in this country of 230 million people.

Religious Minister Muhammad Agil Siraj has said that the U.S. warnings about Syria’s alleged protection of loyalists of the Iraqi Baathist regime "indicated the U.S. efforts to expand the Israeli hegemony in the Middle East".

His view is that any U.S. campaign against countries like Syria would spell danger for Muslim communities and the world. "The Saddam regime may have had problems with Iraqi neighbours, but even so Muslim solidarity has been strong," he said.

”But Syria has good relations with its neighbours and other Muslim countries in other parts of the world,” he said. "Then Muslim solidarity will be much stronger against the United States (it takes action against Syria)."

It is strong in Indonesia too, despite separatist conflicts in Aceh and Papua remaining unresolved and plans for greater autonomy for these provinces not coming to fruition. When two popular television channels – Lativi and Metro TV – conducted polls on perceptions of the United States, 70 percent and more of their viewers said they think the United States is a threat to global peace.

"American cruelty is a monster in this civilised world," said one respondent to a Metro TV telephone poll. "They think bombs, missiles and overwhelming power can solve the world’s problems."

Nurcholish Majid, a leading Muslim intellectual, has said that the unchallenged power of the United States as the only superpower has led to undemocratic international relations. "There should be some powerful countries which, if they do not oppose, at least do not ally themselves with the United States – that will help balance international relations," said Majid.

Condemnation can be found across the board. Riza Sihbudi, an Indonesian expert on Middle Eastern affairs, said that by practising "arrogant diplomacy", the United States is harming the democracy and human rights it claims to adhere to and exposes the double standards with which it views these issues.

"If they are sincere," argued Sihbudi, "then the easiest, cheapest, and safest way of promoting democracy in the Middle East is through its good allies there – Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. No single country in the Middle East is democratic, so why should Iraq be the target?"

Sihbudi believes that Muslim opinion in Indonesia about the United States has changed dramatically since the aggression against Iraq.

"I think this is when U.S boasting about its mission for democracy and human rights has become a laughing stock among Indonesian Muslims," he said. "That’s why calls for the boycott of American-made products in Indonesia are getting louder and louder. And they hate the United States more than ever."

Majid says there should be a regional counterweight that can "prevent U.S. political expansion". To him the obvious candidate is Japan, but he has deplored Japan’s decision to side with the United States in its invasion and occupation on Iraq.

Resistance to the United States and its unilateralism, says Majid, does not "have to be in the form of a military race or competition". He thinks economic resistance can make a big difference, but that countries like Japan should take the lead in doing so.

Such a view dovetails with that of former finance minister and chairman of the Indonesian Community for Transparency, Marie Muhammad, who said the opposition from France, Germany and Russia to Washington has not been effective because these countries "are not sincere in their commitment to democracy and humanity".

In the aftermath of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, the political, religious and ethical universes are merging over this issue in Indonesia. Not only are Indonesians doubting international stances about issues like democracy and human rights, they are also questioning organisations like Amnesty International.

"Where are these proponents of human rights?" asked Bentar Sagara Mukti, a student activist in Bandung, outside Jakarta. "We have seen heart-rending images (from Iraq) of children and old people roasted to death; civilian bodies destroyed by U.S. missiles. Where is their voice?"