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From: Azril Mohd
Amin
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 7:21 PM
Subject: The Other Side of American Charity in Southeast
Asia The Other Side of American Charity in Southeast AsiaBy Farish A. Noor The tsunami tragedy that struck the countries of Southeast and South Asia recently has been compounded further by the vicissitudes of politics. Thus far we have witnessed both the redeeming demonstration of human charity that extends beyond borders, as well as the less-than-dignified posturing of governments that can only think within the constrains of their borders. The tsunami tragedy in Southeast Asia was quickly
transformed into a gross pantomime of states and governments: The country worst
hit by the catastrophe was undoubtedly Indonesia, with more than a hundred
thousand killed in the northwestern province of Aceh, and a further three
hundred thousand missing and displaced. Almost immediately the government of
neighbouring Malaysia came to the fore to offer aid and assistance, but not
without the prompting of the Malaysian public, who loudly condemned the initial
indifference of the Malaysia media that hardly gave the event the coverage it
deserved on the first day of the tragedy. Malaysia�s apparent charity is also laced with political
concerns, for when the tragedy struck the Malaysian government was engaged in a
nation-wide round-up of illegal Indonesian migrant workers who were being sent
back to Indonesia. The Malaysian government went as far as resorting to the use
of national reserve forces, and threatened the illegal immigrants with
punishments that included whipping as well as
fines. But the most visible actor on the stage in Indonesia�s
Aceh province today has to be the United States of America, alongside its ally
Australia. The American government has directed its troops and naval forces to
Aceh, sending in soldiers as well as army helicopters to help with the relief
effort. No doubt, this act of apparent benevolence was likewise coloured by
genuine political concerns as well: The Americans know very well that at the
moment the image of the USA is at an all-time low in Indonesia � the world�s
largest Muslim nation. Coming as it did at a time when the image and standing of
the United States is at its lowest ebb, the tsunami tragedy was � ironically � a
boon for some. The American government knows very well that its reputation and
credibility has suffered greatly of late, and in the battle for hearts and minds
of the Muslim world countries like Malaysia and Indonesia are of enormous
strategic importance as they have come to be cast as �model Muslim states� that
Washington believes ought to be followed by other Arab
countries. America therefore has tried its best to win over the
support of Southeast Asian Muslims in both Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the
case of the former has gone as far as setting up �American corners� in
Indonesian universities, to showcase the American way of life and to illustrate
the meaning of American values. American NGOs, donor agencies and foundations
such as the Asia Foundation are also at the forefront of pumping in millions of
dollars to �progressive� and �liberal� Indonesian and Malaysian Islamist NGOs,
think-tanks, universities and other institutions, with the hope of ensuring that
both countries do not fall into the hands of the more anti-American streams of
political Islam. But at the same time Washington seems oblivious to the
fact that its arrival in Indonesia is not without precedent. Despite President
Bush�s pledges to help Indonesia recover from the tsunami catastrophe, the
people of Indonesia remember the role that America played for so long as the
strongest supporter of the Soeharto regime, from 1965 to 1998. Indonesians also
recall with horror the collusion of the US � notably its intelligence agencies
like the CIA � in the bloodbath that led to the destruction of the Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI) in 1965. Today, America�s relief efforts show the same signs of
political machiavellism of the past. In areas like Aceh, there is now a
veritable race among foreign donor agencies to get as much help on the ground as
soon as possible. The US has a head start thanks to its logistical advantage.
But another reason why it is so prominently visible is because it has also
eliminated other donor agencies and sources of funding: Local Indonesian relief
groups, many of them linked to local Indonesian Islamist parties like the Partai
Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) and movements like the Hidayatullah have been sidelined
from Aceh, on the grounds that they might be working alongside radical Islamist
forces. To make things worse, Washington�s �War on Terror� in
Southeast Asia has also obstructed many Arab and South Asian donors who find
that they cannot donate to Aceh for fear of being accused of funding �radical
Islamist groups�. As a result of these restrictions, Muslim relief organisations
from countries like Malaysia, Pakistan, the Gulf states and beyond are forced to
make the long trip to Aceh themselves, to hand over the money and aid they have
collected personally. A Malaysian Muslim-based relief group has recently
complained that unlike the Americans and their Western allies, Muslim NGOs are
treated with suspicion and made to feel unwelcomed by the US and the Indonesian
authorities. So deep is the scepticism of American intentions and its
agenda towards the Muslim world that even the leaders of moderate Islamist
organisations in Southeast Asia are not impressed by the US�s latest
humanitarian efforts. As Ahmad Azam, President of the Malaysian Islamic Youth
Movement (ABIM) noted: �After the 11 September tragedy, followed by the attack
on Afghanistan on the pretext of blaming Osama Bin Laden for it, and then
invading Iraq on the questionable basis of supposedly amassing weapon of mass
destruction (WMD), the Muslim world will never trust the U.S. anymore as a
nation that stands for freedom, human rights and justice. The treatment on the
so-called terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, the massacre of Iraqis in Falluja as
well in Afghanistan while at the same ignoring the series of assassinations of
Palestinian leaders has destroyed whatever credibility the US had left as an
advocate for peace.� Such sentiments have also become the norm among leading
advocates of human rights and democracy in the region. In the words of Chandra
Muzaffar, president on the Movement for a Just World, one of the leading NGOs in
Malaysia, Washington�s relief efforts may well come to naught, for �we have
now reached a point where there is widespread
antipathy towards Washington amongst Malaysian
Muslims.� As for the Acehnese themselves, they have their own
doubts and suspicions about the role and agenda of the US and its Western allies
in Aceh. Why, they ask, are the Americans there now, to hand out aid, shelter
and medical supplies? Why were they absent when the province of Aceh was caught
in a civil conflict with Jakarta and the Indonesian army; when thousands of
Acehnese were murdered and buried in secret mass graves in the jungle; and when
the social infrastructure of Aceh including its schools and colleges were being
destroyed? The answer is obvious enough: For when the Aceh uprising was at its
peak and the Indonesian army was at its most brutal in the province, it was
Washington � under the leadership of successive US presidents from Gerald Ford
to Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton � who was the strongest supporter of the
Indonesian regime itself.
............. Dr. Farish Ahmad-Noor (Dr. Badrol Hisham Ahmad-Noor) Academic Researcher Centre for Modern Orient Studies (ZMO) 33 Kirchweg, 14129 Berlin Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of Hidayahnet unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from Hidayahnet, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links
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