Indos
PDF THINK TANK: ANALYST
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2013
- Messages
- 23,466
- Reaction score
- 24
- Country
- Location
This thread is ridiculous, we got more pressing issue at home like war against terrorism, natural dissaster at several region/provinces, rising of dollar US value against rupiah, National election. I dont get what we will get for standing and backing Rohingyas, the same case happened with Palestinian issues? I just hope our sanity will prevalent against our irrational and biased point of view because of some identity value.
Naturally Rohingya issue will came at the most least prioritize of our national issue.
Palestinian and Rohingya issue have become Indonesian Muslim concerns. It is the fact. Even, Palestinian issue has become part of Indonesian foreign policy for so long, due to Muslim political pressure. As we all know during new order (Soeharto), our foreign minister is always an Arab Indonesian.
Ali Alatas 1988-1999 Indonesian Foreign Minister
It is not geopolitics kind of thing, it is moral thing. Any President of Indonesia has to be seen as pro Palestinian, and it started as early as 1945, similar like how US President need to be seen as pro Israel due to American Evangelical identity and Jews Lobby. Yes you are right it is part of identity value.
Rohingya issue itself is kind of new for Indonesian compared to Palestinian issue, but since the problem is in our region, and as regional power and ASEAN de facto leader, Indonesia needs to show some kind of leadership to help solving the problem. We have had similar problem before in Kamboja, and at that time we are success to show our leadership. Indonesia during 1985-1990 is much poor than Indonesia today but we were able to help that country.
We have ASEAN, we have already had a good tool to pressure Myanmar government on this issue. Myanmar is not Israel who has US as a backing, and the problem itself exist in our region. We have a moral obligation to solve the problem.
And for the President, in order to win Muslim vote, he also needs to lean toward Islam politics agenda a bit, as has been seen on how he pick his running mate. As we know, Indonesia Today is more conservative than Indonesia 10 years ago. Indonesia in 2008 is more conservative than Indonesia in 1990.
Rohingya issue can be part of our election issue but I am agree that the weight is not as big as other issue which is mostly domestic.