Military

DATE=10/31/00

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

NUMBER=5-47285

TITLE=U-S/INDO POL ANALYSIS

BYLINE=GARY THOMAS

DATELINE=BANGKOK

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The U-S Embassy in Indonesia is closed to the public until further notice. Bomb threats and anti-U-S protests have sharply increased in Indonesia in recent days because of both U-S policy in the Middle East and a blunt-spoken U-S ambassador. As VOA Southeast Asia correspondent Gary Thomas reports, there is also domestic political capital to be made by opponents of an increasingly embattled president.

TEXT: A potent concoction of nationalist sentiment, anti-Israeli fervor, bruised feelings, and plain political opportunism has fanned anti-American sentiment in Indonesia and created a rift in U-S-Indonesian relations.

The origins of the rift can be traced in two different directions - several thousand miles to the east of Jakarta in West Timor, and thousands of miles northwest to Israel.

The diplomatic spat began in Atambua, West Timor, where the deaths of three United Nations aid workers at the hands of militia bands sparked sharp international criticism, particularly by the United States. U-S officials have been relentlessly pushing Indonesia to rein in the militias, but Indonesia has been slow to do so.

U-S Ambassador Robert Gelbard has been particularly outspoken on that and other matters and publicly so. Harold Crouch, an Indonesian analyst with the Swiss-based International Crisis Group, says that is offensive to Indonesians, who like to do things quietly.

/// CROUCH ACT ///

The present American ambassador is a man who speaks his mind all the time in a way that is unusual among diplomats. And occasionally the things he has said have upset some Indonesians, not only Muslims, but also in the nationalist camp, who feel he is talking down to them, telling them what to do, and all that, engaging in debate, public debate, with prominent Indonesians, which is not what diplomats usually do.

/// END ACT ///

In one example, local reports accused the United States of trying to influence Indonesian military appointments and of trying to prevent deportation of a tourist accused of spying. In an unusually sharp retort, the Embassy issued a statement accusing the defense minister and other ministers of contributing to a disinformation campaign hostile to U-S interests in Indonesia.

All this comes amidst the crisis in the Middle East. In Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim country the United States is viewed as being biased for Israel and against the Palestinians. Anti U-S and anti-Israeli protests have erupted around the U-S Embassy.

Political analyst Dewi Fortuna Anwar says Mr. Gelbard's outspoken ways have complicated matters.

/// ANWAR ACT ///

The problem is compounded, first, by the Atambua crisis, in which the United States had threatened Indonesia with all kinds of sanctions. And then added to that is the problem in the Middle East, where the United States policy and stance towards Israel is very, very different compared to its stance towards Indonesia. That has created a lot of opposition against U-S pro-Zionist policy. And thirdly, there is a genuine resentment and dissatisfaction with what is seen as an interventionist and deliberately vocal stance taken by the current U-S ambassador here.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Gelbard has refused to be interviewed on the topic of his diplomatic style.

But analysts say that besides genuine sentiment, there are also those who are trying to make political capital out of it all. One year into his five-year term, President Abdurrahman Wahid is in deep trouble, and talk of impeachment is growing. Mr. Wahid has refused to expel Mr. Gelbard and stressed the need to continue the U-S-Indonesian relationship. As Mr. Crouch points out, that is ammunition to his opponents.

/// CROUCH ACT TWO ///

There is a lot of criticism, growing criticism. The euphoria of democracy when he was first elected has been lost to some extent, and he's under attack, under real threat, of possible impeachment. So for many people who are against him, any issue will do to hit him. And he has been forced into a position of looking as if he is defending Israel, looking as if he is defending the United States. So there's a mixture of genuine feeling, plus there's a lot of politics in it.

/// END ACT ///

U-S Embassy consular and visa services in Jakarta remain shut, and the U-S State Department has warned all American citizens in Indonesia to keep a low profile. (Signed)

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