Indonesia changes its stance, supports India's bid for UN security council seat

Indonesia changes its stance, supports India's bid for UN security council seat
Sonia Trikha

Jakarta, January 10: Indonesia today, for the first time, supported India's entry into the expanded United Nations as a Permanent Member of the Security Council.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said that reforms in the United Nations must see the entry of Asia in the Security Council and in this only including Japan is not enough, India is a large country and must beallowed permanent membership. In the past, Indonesia has staked its claim tothe other seat in the UN along with Japan. Today Alwi expressly stated that in Indonesia economic recovery would take precedence over political leadership. Therefore they would instead support their friends, which isIndia and Japan, for a permanent seat in the expanded UN.

He also committed to support India at the ASEAN and said that Indonesia willback India at the economic bloc, of which Indonesia is a member, on itsinitiative for an Asean plus India summit which New Delhi has been calling for but its request was turned down last year due to ``a lack of consensus''. There are fresh initiatives now to hold the summit in the coming months.

On the issue of Kashmir, Alwi described it as delicate and said, it is very good that the informal talks have been started and we would like to see a peaceful resolution. Alwi, however, also stressed that India and Indonesia must take their bilateral relations forward, which had not been very warm during Suharto's last years in power. This very clearly warm atmosphere of dialogue between India and Indonesia was started with the arrival of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on a two-day visit from Hanoi and kept up throughout the day.

Significantly, making common cause with the archipelago nation, Vajpayee toldAbdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia which has a 85 per cent Muslimsamong its 220 million population at a banquet that, ``we also have to join hands in protecting the security of our people. Terrorism, fuelled by religious extremism and financed by drug smuggling and gun-running, threatens the very fabric of democratic societies like ours''. In the light of recent separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya in Indonesia, Vajpayee expressed India's support for the sovereignity and territorial integrity of Indonesia and assured Indonesia of ``our fullest support for your reform process''.

Earlier in the day, Vajpayee became the first Indian head of government toarrive in Jakarta on a bilateral visit in 14 years. As Vajpayee came off theplane at Keberangkatan airport on an improvised catering truck, he wasreceived with full ceremonial honours by President Wahid, who broke protocolin a special gesture to receive a head of government and came despite reportsof ill health.

The Indian Prime Minister was greeted to the tune of the National Anthem booming against the sound of the 21-gun salute. The ceremonies over, two of the largest democracies in Asia got down to the business of discussing issues and reviving the ties that were formed most recently during the visit of President Wahid to India in February 2000.

Vajpayee, accompanied by Wahid, proceeded to the Presidential palace and then drove to meet majority party leader and Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the legendary Sukarno, who, with his special rapport with Jawaharlal Nehru first cemented relations with India.

Later in the day, Vajpayee attended a banquet hosted by Wahid in his honour. Vajpayee told the Indonesian leadership, ``I bring you cordial Id greetings and best wishes for the Millennium''.

Tomorrow the Indian delegation will hold bilateral talks and sign five agreements.