Temuramah Obama Dengan Arabia
Oleh
Zaharuddin Abd Rahman
Kebanyakan ahli politik, peniaga, ahli akademik di seluruh dunia sedang mengintai dan meneliti polisi-polisi presiden baru Amerika. Secara sepintas lalu, tiada banyak polisi utamanya dilihat berbeza. Cumanya Obama mengambil pendekatan sedikit yang dikira terbuka dan lembut bagi dalam usahanya merapatkan hubungan Muslim dan Amerika. Sehingga beliau sudi ditemuramah oleh television al-arabia.
Sebelum ini, Presiden Obama kelihatan telah membuat sesuatu di luar dugaan masyarakat Islam apabila menjadi presiden Amerika pertama yang menyebut perkataan Muslim sebanyak dua kali di dalam ucapan sulong pada 20 Jan 09 yang lalu.
Beliau juga pertama kali dilihat memberi ruang ekslusif bagi tv arab untuk menemuramahnya, hasratnya adalah untuk mengajak masyarakat Islam dan Iran agar tidak lagi mengganggap Amerika sebagai musuh utama. Obama cuba mengajak masyarakat Islam berkawan dengan Amerika serta ‘redha' dengan polisi-polisi luarnya yang sama sekali tidak membawa redha umat Islam.
Ya, ada sedikit perbezaan, apabila Amerika yang biasanya dilihat sebagai angkuh, ego dan ‘jahat' kali ini berubah rentak kepada ‘lunak' dan memujuk. Obama berkata :-
And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that. Andthat I think is going to be an important task
HASRAT OBAMA TERCABAR
Namun hasrat itu akan tercabar, jika dasar polisi luar Amerika tetap sebagaimana dahulu khususnya adalah:-
1) Kepentingan Yahudi Israel sentiasa diutamakan dan mereka akan tetap bersama Amerika.
2) Yahudi Isreal tetap berhak sepenuhnya ‘mempertahankan' dirinya (dengan menyerang negara lain). Obama berkata :-
N Now, Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side.
3) Sebarang penyeludupan senjata ke Palestin mesti disekat. Iaiu menafikan kemampuan Palestin untuk mempertahankan dirinya jika diganggu gugat. Tanpa senjata Umat Islam Palestin boleh diterajang dan disiat dengan amat mudah sahaja.
4) Iran mesti memberhentikan proses Nuklear yang boleh mengancam ‘keamanan'.
Namun ucapan Obama memperlihatkan dirinya cuba memengani hati semua pihak, sehingga dilihat sorong tarik dalam ucapannya, apabila ia berkata pula :-
I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state - I'm not going to put a time frame on it
Ia satu kenyataan yang baik tapi dalam masa yang sama Obama mengakui sokongan Amerika tanpa belah bagi dengan Israel di tahap "paramount" , namun langsung tidak mengulas penderitaan masyarakat Palestin semasa diserang dan juga di ketika ini di mana bekalan bantuan di sekat dari masuk ke Gaza.
PUJUKAN OBAMA
Obama juga turut cuba meraih sangka baik masyarakat Islam menggunakan kekuatan latar belakangnya seperti memaklumkan terdapat ahli keluarganya yang muslim serta beliau pernah tinggal di Indonesia.
Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.
Secara peribadi, saya yakin ramai akan menolak dan terlalu skeptik dengan lafaz ini, namun terus terang ,saya masih boleh bersangka baik dengan usahanya walaupun sedar tiada banyak perkara besar boleh berubah. Namun kalau sedikit perubahan yangbaik boleh ditawarkan, itu satu peluang baik buat umat Islam.
Selain itu saya juga selesa dengan kenyataanya ketika memberi gambaran tugas wakil Amerika ke Timur Tengah apabila berkata :-
And George Mitchell is somebody
of enormous stature. He is one of the few people who have international
experience brokering peace deals.
And so what I told him is start by
listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues --and
we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen. He's
going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report
back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.
Ya, Amerika sebelum ini hanya mendengar dan mendapat gambaran berkenaan Islam dari sumber-sumber Yahudi. Mereka juga kerap membuat keputusan dan mengkesampingkan pandangan umat Islam. Kali inilah masa umat Islam menyampaikan mesej dan gambaran sebenar Islam.
Jika anda membaca transkrip interview Obama dengan AlArabia. Saya yakin ramai yang akan merasa keliru apakah sebenarnya perancangan Obama, ada yang berbaik sangka dan ada yang tetap selamanya berburuk sangka. Namun semua kita faham, Obama sedang berusaha menjaga hati semua pihak bagi meraih sesuatu yang luar biasa bagi dirinya sebagai Presiden Amerika. Kedudukan sepertinya pasti akan sentiasa ke sana dan ke sini, bergantung kepada 'dengan siapa anda bercakap'.
BEZA EXTREMIST DAN ISLAM
Saya juga agak selesa dengan kenyataan Obama yang membezakan antara Islam dan keganasan, seperti :-
what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name.
Bagi kita bersifat adil dan teliti, mari kita sama-sama membaca transkrip di bawah dan kemudian bolehlah kita sama-sama meneka, mengagak dan meramal sendiri. Masing-masing punyai pendapat sendiri.
Namun bagi saya dan orang seperti saya, Obama boleh dikatakan berjaya dalam kata-katanya untuk membuatkan saya sedikit bersangka baik terhadap pentadbirannya. Kerana harapan saya untuknya tidak tinggi, justeru saya menjangkanya harapan saya yang rendah ini mungkin boleh tercapai. Kalau anda berharap tinggi, pastinya tidak tercapai.
Sekian
Zaharuddin Abd Rahman
29 Jan 2009
Transkrip tembual Presiden Obama dengan Al-Arabia
The
following is a full transcript of Hisham Melhem's interview with President
Obama on Al Arabiya TV:
Q: Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity, we really appreciate it.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much.
Q: Sir, you just met with your personal envoy to the Middle East, Senator
Mitchell. Obviously, his first task is to consolidate the cease-fire. But
beyond that you've been saying that you want to pursue actively and
aggressively peacemaking between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Tell us a
little bit about how do you see your personal role, because, you know, if the
President of the United States is not involved, nothing happens - as the
history of peace making shows. Will you be proposing ideas, pitching proposals,
parameters, as one of your predecessors did? Or just urging the parties to come
up with their own resolutions, as your immediate predecessor did?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the most important thing is for the United States
to get engaged right away. And George Mitchell is somebody of enormous stature.
He is one of the few people who have international experience brokering peace
deals.
And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the
United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues --and
we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen. He's
going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report
back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.
Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what's best
for them. They're going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that
the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is
one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people.
And that instead, it's time to return to the negotiating table.
And it's going to be difficult, it's going to take time. I don't want to
prejudge many of these issues, and I want to make sure that expectations are
not raised so that we think that this is going to be resolved in a few months.
But if we start the steady progress on these issues, I'm absolutely confident
that the United States -- working in tandem with the European Union, with
Russia, with all the Arab states in the region -- I'm absolutely certain that
we can make significant progress.
Q: You've been saying essentially that we should not look at these issues --
like the Palestinian-Israeli track and separation from the border region --
you've been talking about a kind of holistic approach to the region. Are we
expecting a different paradigm in the sense that in the past one of the
critiques -- at least from the Arab side, the Muslim side -- is that everything
the Americans always tested with the Israelis, if it works. Now there is an
Arab peace plan, there is a regional aspect to it. And you've indicated that.
Would there be any shift, a paradigm shift?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, here's what I think is important. Look at the proposal
that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia --
Q: Right.
THE
PRESIDENT: I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took
great courage --
Q: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: -- to put forward something that is as significant as that.
I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace.
I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with
Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These things are interrelated. And what I've said, and I think Hillary Clinton
has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region
as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world,
that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and
mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.
Now, Israel
is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally
of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is
paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is
important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time
is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side.
And so what we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions
that have existed and have built up over the last several years. And I think if
we do that, then there's a possibility at least of achieving some
breakthroughs.
Q: I want to ask you about the broader Muslim world, but let me - one final
thing about the Palestinian-Israeli theater. There are many
Palestinians and Israelis who are very frustrated now with the current
conditions and they are losing hope, they are disillusioned, and they believe
that time is running out on the two-state solution because - mainly because of
the settlement activities in Palestinian-occupied territories.
Will it still be possible to see a Palestinian state -- and you know the
contours of it -- within the first Obama administration?
THE
PRESIDENT: I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state -- I'm not
going to put a time frame on it -- that is contiguous, that allows freedom of
movement for its people, that allows for trade with other countries, that
allows the creation of businesses and commerce so that people have a better
life.
And, look, I think anybody who has studied the region recognizes that the
situation for the ordinary Palestinian in many cases has not improved. And the
bottom line in all these talks and all these conversations is, is a child in
the Palestinian Territories going to be better off? Do they have a future for
themselves? And is the child in Israel going to feel confident about his or her
safety and security? And if we can keep our focus on making their lives better
and look forward, and not simply think about all the conflicts and tragedies of
the past, then I think that we have an opportunity to make real progress.
But it is
not going to be easy, and that's why we've got George Mitchell going there.
This is somebody with extraordinary patience as well as extraordinary skill,
and that's what's going to be necessary.
Q: Absolutely. Let me take a broader look at the whole region. You are planning
to address the Muslim world in your first 100 days from a Muslim capital. And
everybody is speculating about the capital. (Laughter) If you have anything
further, that would be great. How concerned are you -- because, let me tell
you, honestly, when I see certain things about America -- in some parts, I
don't want to exaggerate -- there is a demonization of America.
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.
Q: It's become like a new religion, and like a new religion it has new converts
-- like a new religion has its own high priests.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q: It's only a religious text.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q: And in the last -- since 9/11 and because of Iraq, that alienation is wider
between the Americans and -- and in generations past, the United States was
held high. It was the only Western power with no colonial legacy.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q: How concerned are you and -- because people sense that you have a different
political discourse. And I think, judging by (inaudible) and
Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden and all these, you know -- a chorus --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I noticed this. They seem nervous.
Q: They seem very nervous, exactly. Now, tell me why they should be more
nervous?
THE
PRESIDENT: Well, I think that when you look at the rhetoric that they've been
using against me before I even took office --
Q: I know, I know.
THE PRESIDENT: -- what that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt. There's
no actions that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a
better education because of them, or has better health care because of them.
In my inauguration speech, I spoke about: You will be judged on what you've
built, not what you've destroyed. And what they've been doing is destroying
things. And over time, I think the Muslim world has recognized that that path
is leading no place, except more death and destruction.
Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in
the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a
language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim
countries.
Q: The largest one.
THE PRESIDENT: The largest one, Indonesia. And so what I want to
communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world,
what I've come to understand is that regardless of your faith -- and America is
a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers -- regardless of your
faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.
And my job
is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with
extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children
live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the
Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been
perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born
as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had
with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why
we can't restore that. Andthat I think is going to be an important task.
But ultimately, people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions
and my administration's actions. And I think that what you will see over the
next several years is that I'm not going to agree with everything that some
Muslim leader may say, or what's on a television station in the Arab world --
but I think that what you'll see is somebody who is listening, who is
respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United
States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a
lack of opportunity. I want to make sure that I'm speaking to them, as well.
Q: Tell me, time is running out, any decision on from where you will be
visiting the Muslim world?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not going to break the news right here.
Q: Afghanistan?
THE PRESIDENT: But maybe next time. But it is something that is going to be
important. I want people to recognize, though, that we are going to be making a
series of initiatives. Sending George Mitchell to the Middle East is fulfilling
my campaign promise that we're not going to wait until the end of my
administration to deal with Palestinian and Israeli peace, we're going to start
now. It may take a long time to do, but we're going to do it now.
We're going
to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a
Muslim capital. We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do
a more effective job of reaching out, listening, as well as speaking to the
Muslim world.
And you're going to see me following through with dealing with a drawdown of
troops in Iraq, so that Iraqis can start taking more responsibility. And
finally, I think you've already seen a commitment, in terms of closing
Guantanamo, and making clear that even as we are decisive in going after
terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians, that we're going to
do so on our terms, and we're going to do so respecting the rule of law that I
think makes America great.
Q: President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very
broad, "war on terror," and used sometimes certain terminology that
the many people -- Islamic fascism. You've always framed it in a different way,
specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is
this one way of --
THE PRESIDENT: I think that you're making a very important point. And that is
that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that
there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the
past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint
with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in
that faith's name.
And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in
distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda -- that espouse violence,
espouse terror and act on it -- and people who may disagree with my
administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms
of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but
still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill
innocent civilians and we will hunt them down.
But to the broader Muslim world what we are going to be offering is a hand of
friendship.
Q: Can I
end with a question on Iran and Iraq then quickly?
THE PRESIDENT: It's up to the team --
MR. GIBBS: You have 30 seconds. (Laughter)
Q: Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far
are you going in the direction of preventing it?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important
for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including
diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran.
Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great
civilization. Iran has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and
prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a
nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that
would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the
past -- none of these things have been helpful.
But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to
express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential
avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out
our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration
speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will
find an extended hand from us.
Q: Shall we leave Iraq next interview, or just --
MR. GIBBS: Yes, let's -- we're past, and I got to get him back to dinner with
his wife.
Q: Sir, I really appreciate it.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much.
Q: Thanks a lot.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it.
Q: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you
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