House examines ambassadorial candidates<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Following the controversial installment of three new ambassadors
\nrecently, the House of Representatives began to screen 17 more
\nambassadorial candidates with the expectation that President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri will heed the House's recommendations.<\/p>\n
House Commission I on security, defense and foreign affairs
\nscreened six of the 17 candidates on Thursday to determine their
\nvision and mission in the posts.<\/p>\n
The six were Sulaiman Abdulmanan, Setiyanto Pujowarsito, Basri
\nHasanuddin, Abdurahman Matalite, Roni Hidayat and Ribhan A.
\nWahab.<\/p>\n
The screening was conducted behind closed doors in order to
\nmaintain confidentiality.<\/p>\n
Commission chairman Ibrahim Ambong declined to identify the 17
\nambassadorial candidates and would not reveal the countries they
\nwere to be assigned to.<\/p>\n
"Our main goal is to ensure that the ambassadorial candidates
\nare skilled in international diplomacy to forge bilateral
\ncooperation between Indonesian and foreign countries," he said.<\/p>\n
When asked how the ambassadorial candidates were screened,
\nAmbong said that every candidate had been asked to present their
\nvision and mission if assigned to a post overseas.<\/p>\n
The deputy chairman of the commission, Isac Latuconsina, said
\nscreening would be completed within two weeks.<\/p>\n
The House has protested the installment of three ambassadorial
\ncandidates who, according to the commission, do not meet the
\nminimum criteria set by the House.<\/p>\n
Many legislators called on the House to boycott the screening
\nof the 17 ambassadorial candidates because the President had
\nignored recommendations on three previous candidates.<\/p>\n
Despite objections from the House, Megawati went ahead with
\nher plan to swear in Irsan Abdul Gani as new ambassador to Japan,
\nAmin Rianom to Turkey and Azerbaijan and Hardikun Supandar to
\nAlgeria.<\/p>\n
Article 13 of the amended Constitution stipulates that the
\npresident in his\/her capacity as head of state has the
\nprerogatives to appoint ambassadors after listening to the House
\nof Representatives' considerations.<\/p>\n
Ambong said the President went ahead with the planned
\ninstallment because the House leadership did not explain in its
\nletter to Megawati why the three new ambassadors were considered
\nunsuitable.<\/p>\n
"We hope the President will listen to our recommendations on
\nthe 17 ambassadorial candidates," he said, adding that commission
\nmembers had no personal interest in the matter.<\/p>\n
He added that the commission had done its duty in screening
\nthe ambassadorial candidates objectively and fairly and had taken
\nall elements into consideration before forwarding its
\nrecommendations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-examines-ambassadorial-candidates-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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