TULISAN KEDUA-KU

INDONESIA: VISIT BY ISRAELI MPS SPARKS DEBATE


Jakarta, 20 April (AKI) - The visit from 29 April - 4 May by a delegation of Israeli parliamentarians has opened up a debate in Indonesia where radical Islamic groups' anger is counterbalanced by cautious acknowledgement from some political observers that Jakarta needs to have a balanced foreign policy. The Israeli MPs will attend the six-day Inter-Parliamentary Assembly taking place on Bali.

Fauzan al-Anzhori, spokesperson for the militant Islamic Defendant Front (FPI) told Adnkronos International (AKI) that the visit should no be allowed, and that Muslims will take it to the streets, if the government does not intervene.

“We should reject the visit, whatever the reason for it. We should show solidarity with the Palestinians,” he said. “If the government confirms its intention to allow the Israelis to come here, we will rally to against it,” he added.

However, Siti Mutiah, a lecturer in Middle-Eastern Affairs at Yogyakarta Gadjah Mada University said that, although the decision to allow the Israeli delegation to visit was a difficult one, Indonesia needed to open up.

“This visit puts Jakarta in a dilemma,” Mutiah told AKI, referring to Indonesia’s role as the country with the world’s largest Muslim population

“At a political level, it is not a big deal to welcome the Israeli delegation here. But at grassroots’ level, the visit will certainly have a psychological impact. We have to realise that there are non-State actors influencing the dynamic of the international relations.”

“But Indonesia’s foreign policy needs to be neutral,” she added.

Indonesia’s foreign minister Hasan Wirayuda has been quoted as saying that Indonesia, as the host of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly meeting, is bound by an agreement that it may not reject any participants.

The forthcoming visit will not be the first visit of an Israeli delegation to Indonesia. Last year, a delegation, including the Israel ambassador to Thailand, attended the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific meeting, held in Jakarta.

Indonesia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations. Indonesia is a firm supporter of the right to independence for Palestine, and Jakarta has made the solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a prerequisite for opening formal diplomatic channels.

On the other hand, Tel Aviv has said diplomatic relations a pre-requisite for Jakarta to be allowed to play a bigger role in the Middle East - a wish often expressed by Indonesia’s president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly’s inaugural ceremony will take place on 29 April, in the presence of Yudhoyono, Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) president Pier Ferdinando Casini, Indonesian House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono, and IPU secretary general, Anders B. Johnsson.




(Fsc/Dew/Aki)


Apr-20-07 09:00