Global Eye – Copycat Killers

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been taking lessons from US President Bush, says this article in the Moscow Times. Megawati is using Bush’s anti-terrorist rhetoric and military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq to justify her bloody invasion of Aceh, a rebel territory she characterizes as terrorist-ridden. While her strong military stance has heightened her domestic popularity, despite the corruption of her government, her vocal support of the US’s anti-terrorist efforts and careful depiction of the Aceh rebels as terrorists have earned Indonesia both US funding and indifference to humanitarian violations. A close look at the conflict in Indonesia also reveals the continuing role of US corporate interests in determining US foreign policy and media focus. – YaleGlobal