Indonesia
Fifi Aleyda Yahya, Metro TV News | June 2003
Metro TV's Fifi Aleyda Yahya explains why America's reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks provoked anti-U.S. sentiments among Indonesians.
Indonesia – the world's fourth most populous country, with more than 210 million people – is pivotal to peace and stability in Southeast Asia.
As the nation with the largest Muslim population, its position has become even more crucial in the present global constellation.
The United States, as the world's largest economy with a huge influence on the global financial markets, plays an important role in supporting our efforts to solve the economic crisis.
These factors are strong reasons for Indonesia and the U.S. to work for closer relations. However, this is not reflected in the changing reality.
The reactions in the U.S. after the September 11 attacks made us realize how most Americans have little idea about Indonesia.
We are a secular nation, but we were very much portrayed as Islamic radicals.
'U.S. arrogance'
This triggered negative feelings towards the U.S.
During the U.S. attack on Iraq, there were never-ending conversations on the arrogance of President Bush and his government, even while we were drinking Starbucks frappuccinos or having a quick lunch at McDonald's.
Despite admiration for American products, popular culture and lifestyles, Indonesians think the U.S. is an arrogant power whose actions are unfair to Indonesia. The basic reason for this is a lack of knowledge and understanding on each side about the other.
Bali is now more widely known than the whole country; an incident in a small Indonesian town can mean the whole country is portrayed as being unsafe.
Indonesia and the U.S. maintain friendly relations, even though they disagree on various global issues. As the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, Ralph L Boyce, said: "As friends, we can disagree on a lot of things."
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