Trade Opening to Israel Vexes Indonesians  
International Herald Tribune
November 12, 1999
Michael Richardson 

President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia, a reformist Muslim, left Jakarta on Thursday for the United States, leaving behind a country deeply troubled by his decision to open trade ties with Israel and permit a vote on independence in the province of Aceh, an Islamic stronghold.

Both moves are stirring dangerous nationalistic currents in the world's largest Muslim nation, which until now has had no official relations with Israel, analysts said Wednesday.

Mr. Wahid has "created a political minefield for himself by announcing that he is forging ahead with plans to open commercial ties with Israel," the Jakarta Post said. "This issue is so complex and loaded with emotion that he should tread with greater care. He certainly cannot pursue a foreign policy that does not enjoy popular support."

Dozens of Indonesian Muslim youths picketed Parliament in Jakarta this week to protest the plan by the new government to open commercial relations with the Jewish state.

Ahmad Sumargono, chairman of the Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity, said there would be "a flood of Muslim tears" if the government went ahead with the plan.

"Trade and cultural ties are the seeds of diplomatic relations," he said. "The average person can't distinguish between trade relations and diplomatic relations."

Mr. Wahid appears unmoved by such concerns. "To those who oppose it or don't want to understand, I appeal: please try to understand," he said not long before he left Jakarta. "Indonesia can learn a lot from Israel on economics and democracy."

Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab, who is accompanying Mr. Wahid to the United States, where he plans to meet President Bill Clinton in Washington on Friday, has sought to deflect criticism of the opening to Israel by saying it is part a broader foreign policy strategy to strengthen Indonesia's influence and hasten its recovery from the worst economic recession in 30 years.

Last Friday, the Jakarta-based envoys from 16 Middle Eastern and North African countries met Mr. Shihab to seek clarification of the decision to have trade relations with Israel.

He said afterward that he told the envoys that the trade relationship would give Indonesia greater ability to influence the Middle East peace process and that Jakarta would not open diplomatic relations with Israel until there was a total solution of the Palestinian question.

Mr. Shihab had earlier explained to Indonesian reporters that the government aimed to make use of the strong Jewish lobby in the United States and elsewhere to attract investment, trade and economic goodwill to Indonesia.

"Israel is not exactly our main objective, but we know there are influential Jewish community members who have large funds in the world," said Mr. Shihab, a Muslim scholar who was a visiting professor at Harvard University's Center for the Study of World Religions before he became foreign minister. "If they sympathize with us, they will encourage others to invest in Indonesia."

Such an approach is very different to that taken by neighboring Malaysia, which also has a Muslim majority. Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia, who this week called a general election, blamed a conspiracy by Jewish financiers, including George Soros, for the currency crisis in 1997 that brought East Asian countries to their knees.

Mr. Shihab said that it was possible that he and Mr. Wahid would meet Mr. Soros and other influential Jewish figures on their U.S. trip if time permitted.

Officials at the presidential palace in Jakarta said Thursday that, apart from meeting Mr. Clinton, Mr. Wahid would have talks with officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank while in Washington.

They said he would also get treatment for his poor eyesight in the United States, before flying back to Indonesia by way of Japan early next week.

Mr. Wahid, who says Islam must show the world that it is a religion of tolerance and peace, visited Israel when he was an opposition leader despite objections from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. He also joined the board of the Shimon Peres Peace Institute.

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