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Indonesian Muslim leader cautioned Megawati against Bush’s threat to attack Iraq, saying it is motivated by a desire to control the world's oil production
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By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, September 20 (IslamOnline) - In an attempt to rally more
Muslim countries to support the U.S. war on 12-year-sanction-hit Iraq,
U.S. President George W. Bush called Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri to inform her of his policy toward Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein’s regime.
Indonesian
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayudha has confirmed that Megawati
was one of four Asian leaders telephoned by Bush Thursday, September
19, the state-run news agency Antara reported Friday, September 20.
The
details of the conversation between the two leaders were not
disclosed, but observers in Jakarta informed IslamOnline that Bush
wants Indonesia to support the U.S. in its war against Iraq.
Bush
also wants Indonesia to step-up efforts in the campaign against
terrorism, the observers said.
Wirayudha
said he sees the calls as Bush's initiative to inform the Asian
leaders of the U.S. government's policy.
But
he thought there was no pressure from Bush on Megawati to accept the
U.S. plan to attack Iraq. Indonesia has not made any official stance
on the issue though it is clear the country is not ready to support a
war against Iraq.
White
House spokesman Scott McClellan said the two leaders talked about war
on terrorism, briefly about Iraq.
Nevertheless,
in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, September 18,
Wirayudha warned that the unilateral use of force in Iraq would pose a
"grave" danger of destabilizing the Middle East region.
"Any
unilateral use of force risks not only the authority of the United
Nations but would also carry the grave potential of destabilizing the
immediate region, and indeed beyond, with its attendant humanitarian
implications," he said.
The
Indonesian foreign minister said mechanisms exist within the U.N.
system to deal with the challenges of Iraq and "peaceful efforts
must be fully exhausted."
Indonesia
also linked the situation in Iraq with those in occupied Palestine and
with regard to terrorism.
Its
Foreign Minister said, “The situation in Iraq cannot be viewed in
isolation. How we address this problem will have repercussions on the
longer-standing issue of Palestine and the challenge of
terrorism," the Jakarta Post reported.
The
Post also reported that an Indonesian Muslim leader has cautioned the
Indonesian government against the U.S. threat to attack Iraq, saying
it could be motivated by a desire to control the world's oil
production rather than to combat terrorism.
"I'm
curious about why the U.S. insists on launching a military operation
against Iraq. Furthermore, telling the world that Iraq is developing a
nuclear project is a big mistake for the U.S.," Achmad Syafi'i
Maarif, chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim
organization said.
He
said the U.N. had failed to prove the allegation during its latest
inspection in Iraq in 1998.
Maarif
also said the U.S. was acting like a "political cowboy for the
sake of certain interests."
Indonesia,
home to the world's largest Muslim population, has been caught in a
difficult situation ever since the U.S. launched the war on terrorism
following the September 11 attacks.
Indonesian
Muslims, who represent 85 to 90 percent of the country’s 212 million
people, launched protests over what they considered were efforts to
discredit Islam.
