NEWS FOCUS: PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO`S VISIT TO IRAN HAS STRATEGIC MEANING
Antara News Agency - March 12, 2008By Bambang Purwanto
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s visit to Iran has elicited various comments from different figures including legislator Mutammimul Ula who described the president`s visit to Iran as a strategic sojourn.
The member of the Commission I at the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Prosperous Justice Party said on Monday that the president`s visit to Iran had a strategic meaning as it constituted a reciprocal one which deserved high appreciation in the diplomatic etiquette.
The Indonesian head of state visited Iran on March 11, 2008, as part of his trips to several countries till March 20, 2008, including to Dakar, Senegal, to attend the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit on March 12-15, 2008.
During his trips, the president was also scheduled to visit South Africa on March 16, 2008, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 18-20, 2008.
According to Mutammimul Ula, the relations between Indonesia and Iran are worth enhancing as they are developing countries with equal interests.
Indonesia and Iran as the two muslim-majority countries, the members of the G77 (group of seventy seven developing countries), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and Organization of Islamic Conference ( OIC) should be in synergy to enhance the bilateral cooperation in many sectors.
The president`s trips abroad involved a big entourage in the framework of exploring possible strategic cooperation with a number of countries.
Secretary of the Golkar Party faction at DPR, Hajriyanto Y Thohari, meanwhile said the president`s visit to Iran had deep symbolic meaning.
Thohari described it as a symbolic soujorn as the president paid the visit after Indonesia abstained at the voting session of the UN Security Council on March 3, 2008, to approve a new resolution on additional sanctions against Iran`s nuclear program.
Indonesia is the only country of the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, which abstained in the voting session.
On that occasion, Indonesia has shown Iran and the international community that the former as the biggest muslim country in the world is independent, Thohari said.
"The courage to take such a measure shows that the government has also had political position parallel to the Indonesian people`s aspiration," he said.
Thohari saw that the symbolic meaning was significant to strengthen Indonesia`s bargaining position not only to the international community but also to Iran.
"Iran has to appreciate and respect Indonesia and thus the former should learn the latter`s suggestions on the nuclear issue," he said.
Indonesia`s stance is already clear, namely, supporting Iran`s nuclear program for peace not for making armaments, he said, adding that Indonesia believed that recommendations issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in February, 2008, have been valid and authoritative.
It was earlier reported that IAEA concluded that Iran`s nuclear program was far from efforts to produce destructive weapons like what had been frequently accused of by certain western countries.
The Indonesian government considered Iran had been cooperative in the IAEA`s examination on Iran`s nuclear program so that Indonesia abstained in the UN Security Council`s voting session to issue Resolution 1803.
Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said recently Indonesia took the measure after observing that Iran had shown cooperative stand following the previous imposition of a UN resolution on the same issue (Iran`s nuclear program).
Dino said the decision to abstain was made independently without pressures from any party and not for any interest.
Benefit the West
Meanwhile,a political expert at Airlangga University in Surabaya, Dr Daniel Sparringa, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s visit to Iran will benefit western countries.
"SBY (the president) is showing consistency in his foreign policy of trying to bridge the divide between western countries and Islam, and therefore his visit will benefit not only Iran but also the West," Sparringa told ANTARA.
He said it was not the first time for Yudhoyono to show a political stance of maintaining an equi-distance between the `two voices` as he had once bridged differences between the interests of the developing countries and the West.
"Thus, Yudhoyono`s visit to Iran reflects the root of his political stance of allowing room for political moderation so that the visit will not disadvantage but benefit Indonesia because Iran and the West will thereby feel they are being mediated," he said.
Sparringa also said Yudhoyono`s visit to Iran could remedy Indonesia`s `political wound` caused by the government`s support for UN Security Council Resolution 1747 in 2007 on Iran`s nuclear development program although the visit was not motivated by a government wish to counterbalance its past stance on Iran`s nuclear issue.
"Anyway, I think Indonesia`s free and active foreign policy should indeed make Indonesia play a role as a mediator between the two voices in the world," he said.
Relations between Indonesia and Iran now seemed to have become affected by UN Resolution 1747 as Iran`s President Mahmoud Akhmadinejad had attended the D-8 (developing countries) meeting in Bali when the issue of Iran`s nuclear program in the UN Security Council heated up in May, 2006.
The Indonesian parliament and leading figures once criticized the government`s decision to support UN Security Council Resolution 1747 against Iran`s nuclear program.
In March, 2008, the Indonesian government turned out to be the only country in the UN Security Council which abstained in a vote on a third UN Security Council resolution on Iran`s nuclear program (Resolution 1803). (*)
Source: Antara News Agency - www.antara.co.id