============================================================
"I love the United States, with all its faults.
I consider it my second country", Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Bersama Amerika Kita Bisa!
============================================================
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/27D48C6A-C906-4C90-A62B-5E92187B91EE.htm
http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/Compecon/Tigers/Indonesia/030808prospects.txt
"I love the United States, with all its faults.
I consider it my second country", Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Bersama Amerika Kita Bisa!
============================================================
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/27D48C6A-C906-4C90-A62B-5E92187B91EE.htm
http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/Compecon/Tigers/Indonesia/030808prospects.txt
IHT Article Print Page
Copyright � 2002 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
Indonesia's progress will continue
Stanley A. Weiss NYT
Friday, August 8, 2003
Despite the bombing
JAKARTA This country," my Indonesian host said to me, "is a gold
mine in a mine field. Avoid the mines and you will reap the reward."
Just days later, one of those mines exploded down the street - at
the Marriott Hotel in the terrorist attack Tuesday that killed at
least 10 people and wounded more than 150.
Can the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri navigate the
dangerous terrain ahead and prevail against the Islamic extremists
within Indonesian society? Will Indonesia - and the world - reap the
rewards that would follow if the country with the largest Muslim
population succeeds in its bold experiment in democracy?
My discussions with political, economic and military leaders shortly
before the attack suggest that while many land mines litter the
landscape, the gold mine of a peaceful, prosperous Indonesia is
closer than many Western observers believe.
To be sure, the capital has been on high alert since Islamic
terrorists killed more than 200 people in Bali last October. In
recent months, explosions ripped through the Jakarta airport and
Parliament. Luxury Western hotels have installed metal detectors.
Encircled by barbed wire and concrete barriers, the U.S. Embassy
resembles Fort Apache. Foreign tourists and investors are taking
their money elsewhere.
Yet for all the uncertainty, Indonesia continues its slow march to
becoming the world's third largest democracy. Economically, the
country appears poised to recover from the 1997 Asian meltdown.
Rampant corruption, nepotism and poverty persist. But money from the
ethnic Chinese community, which fled the murderous riots of 1998, is
returning. The rupiah has firmed up against the dollar. Gross
domestic product is up. Inflation and interest rates are down.
Privatization of state-controlled companies continues. The Jakarta
stock market is bullish.
Politically, this former dictatorship inches closer to genuine
democracy. A free press and independent political parties flourish.
Ideologues who would impose Islamic law remain, as always, divided
and disorganized. Asked who will win the presidential election next
year, Jusuf Kalla, the coordinating minister for people's welfare,
tells me, "Whoever wins the most votes." For the first time, the
Indonesian people will choose their president in a direct election.
In terms of security, the Bali bombings finally roused Jakarta to
the terrorist threat within its porous borders. Authorities have
aggressively pursued Jemaah Islamiyah, the extremist group linked to
Al Qaeda that is suspected in the Marriott and Bali attacks, and
have put on trial the Bali bombers and their spiritual leader, Abu
Bakar Bashir. The guilty verdict delivered Thursday for Amrozi,
accused of helping to plan and carry out the Bali bombings, is a
sign that the Indonesian judiciary will not be intimidated.
Indeed, the massacre at the Marriott, apparently intended to thwart
the government's crackdown, will probably achieve the opposite,
generating a renewed determination in Jakarta to combat terrorism
and to deepen U.S.-Indonesian cooperation, discreet though it may
be.
Paradoxically, the biggest land mine on the way to a stable
Indonesia may be the one institution capable of preserving its
territorial integrity - the military.
Determined to avoid the disintegration of her ethnically diverse
country, Megawati has given the army a free hand in the rebellious
provinces of Aceh and Papua and has installed former generals as
governors across Indonesia. Its appetite whetted, the military
proposed controversial legislation granting itself authority to take
action in times of national emergency without prior presidential
approval.
So what is Washington doing to increase its influence with this
powerful institution? Nothing. Congress continues to raise barriers
to resuming the International Military and Education Training
program, or IMET, suspended in 1992, under which more than 3,000
Indonesian officers expanded their views on democracy and human
rights while learning how to handle insurgencies and terrorism.
The murder of two Americans in Papua last year, apparently by
renegade soldiers, must be fully investigated, as Congress insists.
And by all accounts, Jakarta is cooperating with the FBI. Yet
discussions with two members of the last IMET class illustrate how
resuming the program would enhance American influence.
Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo fondly recalls training with the
U.S. Army Rangers, whom he describes as "warriors with a respect for
human rights." Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general who is
now coordinating minister of security and political affairs, speaks
of America in glowing terms. "I love the United States, with all its
faults. I consider it my second country."
As it wages a global campaign to win Muslim hearts and minds,
Washington needs as many Widjojos and Yudhoyonos as it can get. And
as Jakarta wades through the dangerous terrain ahead, it needs as
much help combating terrorism as it can get.
From the charred wreckage of the Marriott comes a lesson for
Indonesia and America: If these two natural partners can work
together to deftly sidestep the political and economic mines that
remain, a treasure awaits both in the form of a peaceful, prosperous
and democratic Indonesia.
The writer is founder and chairman of Business Executives for
National Security, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington.
This is a personal comment.
Copyright � 2002 The International Herald Tribune
Note: forwarded message attached.
Copyright � 2002 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
Indonesia's progress will continue
Stanley A. Weiss NYT
Friday, August 8, 2003
Despite the bombing
JAKARTA This country," my Indonesian host said to me, "is a gold
mine in a mine field. Avoid the mines and you will reap the reward."
Just days later, one of those mines exploded down the street - at
the Marriott Hotel in the terrorist attack Tuesday that killed at
least 10 people and wounded more than 150.
Can the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri navigate the
dangerous terrain ahead and prevail against the Islamic extremists
within Indonesian society? Will Indonesia - and the world - reap the
rewards that would follow if the country with the largest Muslim
population succeeds in its bold experiment in democracy?
My discussions with political, economic and military leaders shortly
before the attack suggest that while many land mines litter the
landscape, the gold mine of a peaceful, prosperous Indonesia is
closer than many Western observers believe.
To be sure, the capital has been on high alert since Islamic
terrorists killed more than 200 people in Bali last October. In
recent months, explosions ripped through the Jakarta airport and
Parliament. Luxury Western hotels have installed metal detectors.
Encircled by barbed wire and concrete barriers, the U.S. Embassy
resembles Fort Apache. Foreign tourists and investors are taking
their money elsewhere.
Yet for all the uncertainty, Indonesia continues its slow march to
becoming the world's third largest democracy. Economically, the
country appears poised to recover from the 1997 Asian meltdown.
Rampant corruption, nepotism and poverty persist. But money from the
ethnic Chinese community, which fled the murderous riots of 1998, is
returning. The rupiah has firmed up against the dollar. Gross
domestic product is up. Inflation and interest rates are down.
Privatization of state-controlled companies continues. The Jakarta
stock market is bullish.
Politically, this former dictatorship inches closer to genuine
democracy. A free press and independent political parties flourish.
Ideologues who would impose Islamic law remain, as always, divided
and disorganized. Asked who will win the presidential election next
year, Jusuf Kalla, the coordinating minister for people's welfare,
tells me, "Whoever wins the most votes." For the first time, the
Indonesian people will choose their president in a direct election.
In terms of security, the Bali bombings finally roused Jakarta to
the terrorist threat within its porous borders. Authorities have
aggressively pursued Jemaah Islamiyah, the extremist group linked to
Al Qaeda that is suspected in the Marriott and Bali attacks, and
have put on trial the Bali bombers and their spiritual leader, Abu
Bakar Bashir. The guilty verdict delivered Thursday for Amrozi,
accused of helping to plan and carry out the Bali bombings, is a
sign that the Indonesian judiciary will not be intimidated.
Indeed, the massacre at the Marriott, apparently intended to thwart
the government's crackdown, will probably achieve the opposite,
generating a renewed determination in Jakarta to combat terrorism
and to deepen U.S.-Indonesian cooperation, discreet though it may
be.
Paradoxically, the biggest land mine on the way to a stable
Indonesia may be the one institution capable of preserving its
territorial integrity - the military.
Determined to avoid the disintegration of her ethnically diverse
country, Megawati has given the army a free hand in the rebellious
provinces of Aceh and Papua and has installed former generals as
governors across Indonesia. Its appetite whetted, the military
proposed controversial legislation granting itself authority to take
action in times of national emergency without prior presidential
approval.
So what is Washington doing to increase its influence with this
powerful institution? Nothing. Congress continues to raise barriers
to resuming the International Military and Education Training
program, or IMET, suspended in 1992, under which more than 3,000
Indonesian officers expanded their views on democracy and human
rights while learning how to handle insurgencies and terrorism.
The murder of two Americans in Papua last year, apparently by
renegade soldiers, must be fully investigated, as Congress insists.
And by all accounts, Jakarta is cooperating with the FBI. Yet
discussions with two members of the last IMET class illustrate how
resuming the program would enhance American influence.
Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo fondly recalls training with the
U.S. Army Rangers, whom he describes as "warriors with a respect for
human rights." Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general who is
now coordinating minister of security and political affairs, speaks
of America in glowing terms. "I love the United States, with all its
faults. I consider it my second country."
As it wages a global campaign to win Muslim hearts and minds,
Washington needs as many Widjojos and Yudhoyonos as it can get. And
as Jakarta wades through the dangerous terrain ahead, it needs as
much help combating terrorism as it can get.
From the charred wreckage of the Marriott comes a lesson for
Indonesia and America: If these two natural partners can work
together to deftly sidestep the political and economic mines that
remain, a treasure awaits both in the form of a peaceful, prosperous
and democratic Indonesia.
The writer is founder and chairman of Business Executives for
National Security, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington.
This is a personal comment.
Copyright � 2002 The International Herald Tribune
Note: forwarded message attached.
** Anakbangsa : EmErDe Palar **
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!
____________________________________________________ Berhenti/mengganti konfigurasi keanggotaan anda, silahkan ke: http://rantaunet.org/palanta-setting ___________________________________________________
