Fri, 11/07/2008 10:57 AM | People
JP/P.J. Leo
JAKARTA: Activist and politician Budiman Sudjatmiko said Obama's victory is one way U.S. citizens are protesting the hawkish style of their government's foreign policy.
"U.S. citizens are tired of their government's hawkish style that has gained them more enemies instead of friends in the world," Sudjatmiko told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The former political prisoner in Soeharto's era said the U.S. has been acting like "the world police" -- partly because they won the Cold War.
A similar phenomenon also happened when they idolized John F. Kennedy in the 1960s because they had grown weary of the aggressive style of presidents prior to Kennedy, he said.
"Obama has the will and the ability to make the American dream come true."
The former chairman of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), who is joining the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), feels optimistic that Indonesia could experience the same phenomenon in five to 10 years.
"The 1998 political reform has brought in a lot of young and independent cadres. It's just a matter of time before they step up to the political stage."--JP/Matheos Messakh
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