Indonesia seeks possibility to send troops to Iraq

Indonesia has looked for the possibility to send troops for peace operation mission in Iraq, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said in Jakarta Wednesday.

Minister Wirajuda said that Indonesia has proposed a concept of the implication of foreign troops in Iraq and has actively approached concerned parties to jointly address the conflict in the war shattered nation.

"We are now discussing how the concept to be operationalized in the next policies," Wirajuda told a press conference here.

Asked whether Indonesia will dispatch troops to Iraq, he said: "If there is a chance why not."

Minister Wirajuda said that Indonesia, who has been opposed to the U.S. aggression in Iraq, will use its strategic position, in which it has close relations with the United States, Iraq and other concerned parties in the protracted-bloody conflict.

"As the country with the biggest Muslim population in the world we could not only just lay back and do nothing while thousands of people have died in Iraq," he said.

It accounts of 87 percent of the Indonesian 240 million population is Muslim, making it the most populace Muslim country.

Wirajuda said that he delivered the initiative to the U.S. Secretary of State Condoliza Rice, in the sideline of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit last week in Hanoi.

President Bush and his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed the issue during his short visit in Bogor city near Jakarta on Monday, as part of his grueling tour which also include Singapore and Vietnam.

President Susilo advised President Bush the international participation, Iraqi national reconciliation and rebuilding of Iraq should determine time table for the U.S. troops to exit.

President Bush is under pressure at its country to change course in Iraq.

The U.S. policies and roles in Iraq has spurred strong anti-US sentiment in Indonesia, President Bush shrugs off the protests on his policies during his visit, saying that it was healthy.

Indonesia has decided to send over 1,000 troops to the peace mission operation in Lebanon this month, military has said.

Source: Xinhua