Iran Responds Well to Indonesia's Proposal for Iraq
Wednesday, 12 March, 2008 | 15:08 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Teheran: Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has asked Iran to support the Triple Tracks proposal as an approach to solve the Iraq situation.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad positively supports the idea, according to Yudhoyono.

“I discussed the Triple Tracks proposal as a solution for Iraq with President Ahmadinejad”, said President Yudhoyono after meeting Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, local time.

Yudhoyono actually presented this idea to US President George W Bush when he visited Bogor two years ago.

Triple Tracks is an approach to help create peace in Iraq through three major steps, which are: reconciliation between conflicting parties in Iraq; pulling out US troops and their allies from Iraq, then replacing them with peace troops from Islamic countries; and international support for reconciliation efforts in Iraq.

“This will not be easy to be implemented and much effort will be required. But we have to seek a peaceful solution for Iraq”, said President Yudhoyono, adding, “We cannot just keep silent when the Iraqi people are suffering”.

He said he considered that this proposal was part of carrying out Indonesia's independent and active political foreign policy.

As part of these efforts, the Indonesian government has facilitated a meeting between Sunni and Shiah groups in Indonesia.

This effort is not yet promising but, “We have to try”.

Bambang Harymurti (Teheran)