Envoys misinformed over KL meeting<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab assured
\non Friday that Indonesia harbored no political motive when its
\ndiplomats attended a briefing held by the wife of jailed
\nMalaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur, and that
\ntheir presence was merely a case of miscommunication.<\/p>\n
"It is a matter of human error as, before attending the
\nmeeting, our diplomats received assurances that the meeting had
\nclearance from the Malaysian government," Alwi told The Jakarta
\nPost on Friday.<\/p>\n
"The problem was, we did not cross-check the information.<\/p>\n
"There was no political motive at all, it was totally a case
\nof miscommunication, as we believed the discussion was only about
\nAnwar's health condition," he remarked.<\/p>\n
Alwi further underlined that Indonesia would never jeopardize
\ngood relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
"I believe that Malaysia understands that we do not have any
\nintention in meddling in their internal affairs and will always
\nrespect Malaysia's sovereignty as our close neighbor," he
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
Malaysia rapped foreign diplomats last week for attending a
\nclosed-door meeting with Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail,
\nsaying that their attendance at such a meeting amounted to
\ninterference in Malaysia's domestic affairs.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad criticized the meeting and
\nMalaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on Wednesday
\nthat he would summon all diplomats attending the meeting to
\nexplain the incident.<\/p>\n
It was reported that, besides Indonesian diplomats, there were
\nalso envoys from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Singapore,
\nSpain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and
\nNew Zealand in attendance.<\/p>\n
Alwi said that this should be a very important lesson and that
\nIndonesian diplomats in the future should only attend such
\nmeetings if there is clearance from the Malaysian government.<\/p>\n
"Our embassy has sent a letter to Ibu Azizah regretting the
\ninaccurate information she gave our diplomats. And we completely
\nunderstand if Pak Mahathir was upset because of the matter," he
\nsaid. (dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/envoys-misinformed-over-kl-meeting-1447893297",
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