Jakarta - Indonesian politicians and experts were differed Wednesday on whether the country should recognize Kosovo as an independent and sovereign nation following its unilateral declaration of independence. Lawmakers from the Islamic-backed parties and Muslim leaders have urged the government to immediately endorse its recognition to Kosovo's independence, but nationalist-oriented politicians feared such a move could be a model for many groups in the country.
"Indonesia should recognize Kosovo's independence. As the world's biggest democratic country, Indonesia needs to take the lead in defending oppressed nations," said Haryanto Thohari from the Golkar Party, the country's largest political party.
Indonesia, a sprawling country of more than 17,000 islands, joined other countries, including Russia and China, in opposing independence for Kosovo from Serbia.
In a statement, the Indonesian government said it is "not yet in a position to recognize Kosovo's statehood." It regretted Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, saying Jakarta wanted the final status of Kosovo to be achieved through peaceful dialogues.
However, Indonesian Islamic groups hailed the declaration of independence of the Kosovars, who are Muslims.
Politicians from nationalist-oriented parties feared that Indonesia's recognition of Kosovo's independence could inspire separatist movements, including in eastern Papua region, to make similar moves, leading to the disintegration of the country.
"We should be very careful. Territorial integrity is guaranteed by the UN charter and our constitution," said Sidharto Danubroto, a lawmaker from the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. "Kosovo's independence will set a bad precedent that a territory can just secede even without the UN's consent."
Analyst Hikmahanto Juwana dismissed fears that Indonesia's recognition would encourage separatist movements within the country to follow suit, saying that he saw no reason for Jakarta to delay Kosovo's independence as all requirements to become a free state had been fulfilled.
"Serbia and Indonesia are totally different," said Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia, was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post. "Serbia perpetrated genocide on Kosovo while alleged human rights violations in Papua remain rumours."
Indonesia, home to hundreds of ethic groups, cultures and languages, lost East Timor after a UN-organized independence ballot that was bitterly opposed by the country's powerful military.
Jakarta is currently fighting separatist movements in eastern Papua region, a mostly Christian part of the overwhelmingly Muslim country that is rich in oil, gas and timber. Rebels claim a UN-organized vote in 1969 that saw 1,000 hand-picked tribal elders endorse Jakarta rule was a sham.
More important to remember is that the Kosovo nation is a moderate Muslim community like Indonesia, lawmaker Hajriyanto said.
"We believe that the moderate Islamic Kosovo nation will reduce the gap between the West and Islam. Indonesia and Kosovo will be able to go hand in hand in promoting dialogues between Islam and the West in a peaceful manner," he said.
Moderate Muslim politicians, however, called the government to play roles to encourage the parties to continue with the dialogue and find a way out to a mutually acceptable solution.
