Assessing Obamas visit to Indonesia
By Donny Syofyan
U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Indonesia on Nov. 9 and 10. His trip to the country has now been canceled three times since he came to power. Public disappointment, if any, seems sensible because his trip to Indonesia is not seen simply as a state visit. Rather, it is seen as a ``homecoming” to Jakarta, where he spent four years of his childhood.
Obama’s visit to Indonesia is coincident with Republicans’ winning control of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party, his party. Despite the international community’s dissatisfaction with his promise to improve the U.S. image, many still believe such as Muslim communities that Obama is better than his predecessor, although they are not too happy with the U.S.’ policy towards the Islamic world.
During the meeting, it is likely that Obama’s priorities would be exerted on domestic issues, among others reformed Indonesian military, foreign investment assurance, or the U.S. scholarship to Indonesian students. However, the world would benefit Barack Obama-Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meeting as it deals with three major issues.
First, Obama and Yudhoyono need to work hand in hand to build responsible freedom and mutual respect. President Yudhoyone was very distressed with Western Islamophobia as a result of the wild freedom of press in Western countries.
Yudhoyono, for instance, once sent a letter to President Barack Obama and had a telephone conversation with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking both leaders to intervene and stop the Koran-burning plan by a preacher from a small Florida church from being carried out to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Yudhoyono saw that all governments in the West and the East talk about tolerance. But when intolerance happens, what is their response? Everybody talks about press freedom, but what are the limits? To Yudhoyono, press freedom is not absolute, and this has been confirmed by the United Nations. People talk about democracy, but it does not mean that people are allowed to freely insult other people’s religions in a democracy.
Obama, known for his respect for the Islamic world, and Yudhoyono may play their roles in ensuring that the Muslim community worldwide receives the same respect that is given to other religious groups. Both leaders should involve and urge intense inter-media dialogue. It is true that talk and dialogue do not guarantee success. But both have more to lose if they do not try.
Second, Yudhoyono should boost Obama to further advocate a partnership with Muslim communities across the globe on the basis of mutual interest and respect. Though there has been no drastic change in the US policy, Muslims leaders in the world have developed a soft corner for Obama. They believe there has been less anti-Muslim rhetoric from the White House since Obama took over. Obama does not sound as fiery as Bush was.
However, it is not enough since the Muslim world still awaits justice in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Muslims want dignity. Peace and justice for Palestinians is the biggest test for Obama to pass before he wins the love of the Muslim world.
Therefore, his coming to Indonesia should not be greeted with massive ``street parliament” as Muslims are basically less angry at Obama though they don’t consider the U.S. as Muslim-friendly yet.
Third, Obama and Yudhoyono may share the experience of getting out of a crisis. Both leaders have something in common; crisis leaders. During his administration, Yudhoyono proved himself to be an outstanding crisis manager. He showed this shortly after his inauguration in 2004 in his first tenure following the tsunami in Aceh in 2004.
After the tsunami, Yudhoyono’status as an international statesman continued to grow ― as a key leader of ASEAN, as host to the second Asian-African Summit after a gap of 50 years, as a promoter of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as a peacemaker in Aceh, as host to the U.N. Conference on Climate Change in Bali in December 2007.
Despite his position as the president of the most powerful country in the world, Obama could learn from Yudhoyono’s experience in his attempts to muddle through economic and financial crises in the United States.
The writer is a Jakarta Post columnist. He is a lecturer at Andalas University, Indonesia. He can be reached at kokom_97@yahoo.com.