ID :
15817
Thu, 08/14/2008 - 09:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/15817
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News Focus: TIME FOR RI TO SHOW COURAGE TO REJECT U.S REQUEST
Jakarta, Aug 13 (ANTARA) - It is time for Indonesia to show the world that as a sovereign country, it has the courage not to succumb to any foreign pressure including that from the United States often regarded as a superpower often exerting its influence on the developing countries.
Said Nizar, SH, LLM, an international law experts and lecturer at the Hasanuddin University, as contacted by phone from Jakarta on Wednesday, said the US congressmen who had sent a letter to the Indonesian president only viewed the arrest of two outlawed Papuan separatists as having raised their Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag from their own point of view, but they also had to view it from the context of the unitary state of Indonesia.
The Indonesian government's stand of taking firm measures against the two sympathizers of the outlawed separatist OPM (Free Papua Organization) despite the US Congress' request for their immediate and unconditional release, deserved high praise, Nizar said.
According to Nizar, the U.S legislators lacked comprehensive information about Indonesia, and were influenced by anti-Indonesia groups there. As a matter of fact, no country in the world backed the separatist movement in Papua, while all UN members recognized the Unitary State of Indonesia.
Earlier Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the US government had frequently reiterated its support for Indonesia's integrity. Only a few US congressmen had expressed support for and concern about the OPM sympathizers.
"How many US Congressmen have expressed support for and concern about (the OPM symphatizers). But the matter is not something unusual. We will always push through the legal process and each country must respect other nation's legal process in the current era of democratic transparency, which is free from other government's influence or intervention," Wirajuda said.
In the letter to Yudhoyono, dated July 29, the U.S. legislators said the Papuan people should not be prosecuted for exercising their freedom of expression. Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years in jail respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the Morning Star flag in the Papuan town of Abepura on Dec. 1, 2004.
Regional symbols in Papua and Aceh, which are associated with former or existing separatist groups in the provinces, are banned under Government Regulation No. 77/2007, issued last December. The regulation came amid calls from local people in the two provinces to adopt flags belonging to rebels as regional symbols. As provinces that enjoy special autonomy status, both Aceh and Papua are allowed to have their own flags.
Wirajuda said Indonesia was not obliged to respond to the letter. "We won't be perturbed by the letter. As a sovereign country, we will resist any intervention. I believe the U.S, or any other nation, will not tolerate foreign intervention."In the meantime, the chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Body, Abdillah Toha, said it was not necessary for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to respond to the letter from the 40 US Congressmen about the two separatists in Papua.
"The reason is that it is normal for US Congressmen to write merely to please their constituents," he said in response to the letter from 40 US Congressmen to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
According to him, if the government really wished to answer the letter, the president had to explain them Indonesia's legal and judicial system, including a ruling that a Head of State cannot intervene in an ongoing legal process.
Toha, a senior politician and one of the founders of the National Mandate Party (PAN), explained the third reason for criticizing the US letter.
As far as Indonesia was concerned, the unitary state(NKRI) was a final and non-negotiable answer. "Those who violate the law by indulging in separatist activities will have to face the law, " he said.
"The US Congressmen's letter is an "act of interference in Indonesia's internal affairs, blameworthy and showing an intent to provoke," House Speaker Agung Laksono said.
The Indonesian government should deal with the issue in a resolute way based on the truth and through the proper procedures, he said, calling on the world powers not to apply double standards and act objectivelyIn the context of the US Congressmen's letter, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reported to have bluntly turned down a request from the 40 US Congressmen for an immediate and unconditional release of two Papuans convicted of treason in hoisting the separatist flag.
Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the government asked the U.S. legislators to respect the Indonesian legal system, which outlaws any display of separatist symbols. It was Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Sudjadnan Parnodingingrat, and not the President who is supposed to answer the letter.
The President was busy with preparations of the 63rd Independence Day anniversary celebrations on Sunday. On Friday, the President will deliver a state of the nation address at the House of Representatives and announce the draft state budget for the 2009 fiscal year, Dino said. .
"Politically, we are in a strong position and therefore there is no need to be overly concerned about the letter," he said.
In a statement, the U.S Embassy in Indonesia maintained that Washington remained committed to Jakarta's sovereignty over Papua, but encouraged the implementation of a special autonomy in the province to help eliminate separatist tendencies.
Said Nizar, SH, LLM, an international law experts and lecturer at the Hasanuddin University, as contacted by phone from Jakarta on Wednesday, said the US congressmen who had sent a letter to the Indonesian president only viewed the arrest of two outlawed Papuan separatists as having raised their Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag from their own point of view, but they also had to view it from the context of the unitary state of Indonesia.
The Indonesian government's stand of taking firm measures against the two sympathizers of the outlawed separatist OPM (Free Papua Organization) despite the US Congress' request for their immediate and unconditional release, deserved high praise, Nizar said.
According to Nizar, the U.S legislators lacked comprehensive information about Indonesia, and were influenced by anti-Indonesia groups there. As a matter of fact, no country in the world backed the separatist movement in Papua, while all UN members recognized the Unitary State of Indonesia.
Earlier Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the US government had frequently reiterated its support for Indonesia's integrity. Only a few US congressmen had expressed support for and concern about the OPM sympathizers.
"How many US Congressmen have expressed support for and concern about (the OPM symphatizers). But the matter is not something unusual. We will always push through the legal process and each country must respect other nation's legal process in the current era of democratic transparency, which is free from other government's influence or intervention," Wirajuda said.
In the letter to Yudhoyono, dated July 29, the U.S. legislators said the Papuan people should not be prosecuted for exercising their freedom of expression. Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years in jail respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the Morning Star flag in the Papuan town of Abepura on Dec. 1, 2004.
Regional symbols in Papua and Aceh, which are associated with former or existing separatist groups in the provinces, are banned under Government Regulation No. 77/2007, issued last December. The regulation came amid calls from local people in the two provinces to adopt flags belonging to rebels as regional symbols. As provinces that enjoy special autonomy status, both Aceh and Papua are allowed to have their own flags.
Wirajuda said Indonesia was not obliged to respond to the letter. "We won't be perturbed by the letter. As a sovereign country, we will resist any intervention. I believe the U.S, or any other nation, will not tolerate foreign intervention."In the meantime, the chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Body, Abdillah Toha, said it was not necessary for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to respond to the letter from the 40 US Congressmen about the two separatists in Papua.
"The reason is that it is normal for US Congressmen to write merely to please their constituents," he said in response to the letter from 40 US Congressmen to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
According to him, if the government really wished to answer the letter, the president had to explain them Indonesia's legal and judicial system, including a ruling that a Head of State cannot intervene in an ongoing legal process.
Toha, a senior politician and one of the founders of the National Mandate Party (PAN), explained the third reason for criticizing the US letter.
As far as Indonesia was concerned, the unitary state(NKRI) was a final and non-negotiable answer. "Those who violate the law by indulging in separatist activities will have to face the law, " he said.
"The US Congressmen's letter is an "act of interference in Indonesia's internal affairs, blameworthy and showing an intent to provoke," House Speaker Agung Laksono said.
The Indonesian government should deal with the issue in a resolute way based on the truth and through the proper procedures, he said, calling on the world powers not to apply double standards and act objectivelyIn the context of the US Congressmen's letter, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reported to have bluntly turned down a request from the 40 US Congressmen for an immediate and unconditional release of two Papuans convicted of treason in hoisting the separatist flag.
Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the government asked the U.S. legislators to respect the Indonesian legal system, which outlaws any display of separatist symbols. It was Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Sudjadnan Parnodingingrat, and not the President who is supposed to answer the letter.
The President was busy with preparations of the 63rd Independence Day anniversary celebrations on Sunday. On Friday, the President will deliver a state of the nation address at the House of Representatives and announce the draft state budget for the 2009 fiscal year, Dino said. .
"Politically, we are in a strong position and therefore there is no need to be overly concerned about the letter," he said.
In a statement, the U.S Embassy in Indonesia maintained that Washington remained committed to Jakarta's sovereignty over Papua, but encouraged the implementation of a special autonomy in the province to help eliminate separatist tendencies.
