Palestinian Ambassador row settled: Minister<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government said on Monday that the row
\nbetween Jakarta and Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Ribhi
\nAwad over his purported criticism of the government's stance over
\nthe Middle East crisis was considered settled.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Palestinian
\nenvoy, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said the government would not
\npursue its intention of seeking Awad's replacement.<\/p>\n
\"He has made a clarification and correction that there has
\nbeen a misunderstanding and that the Palestinians have never felt
\nthat they had been abandoned by the Indonesian government,\" Alwi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"I think it is not necessary to continue with this case,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The controversy erupted in Jakarta last week when the head of
\nthe Palestinian delegation to the International Parliamentary
\nUnion (IPU) conference, Salem Al-Za'noon, after meeting with
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, expressed
\ndisappointment with the Indonesian government for failing to
\nsupport Palestine during the recent conflict with Israel.<\/p>\n
Al-Za'noon further criticized President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\nrefusal to resign from the Shimon Peres Foundation, which he
\nclaimed helped fund Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.<\/p>\n
The criticism came as a surprise because Indonesia has
\nremained an adamant supporter of the Palestinian cause. Jakarta
\nhas also repeatedly refused to recognize and open diplomatic ties
\nwith Israel.<\/p>\n
In Seoul last week, Alwi put the blame for the Palestinian
\nstatement on Ambassador Awad's failure to convey accurate
\ninformation on Indonesia's stance on the Middle East crisis.<\/p>\n
He said at the time that he would seek clarification from Awad
\nonce he returned to Jakarta and if the latter failed to make a
\nclarification, Jakarta would write to Palestinian leader Yasser
\nArafat requesting him to send a new envoy.<\/p>\n
Awad said on Monday that \"there has been a 100 percent
\nmisinterpretation and misunderstanding\".<\/p>\n
\"I deplore in the name of the Palestinians the attitude of
\nsome circles who tried to exploit the matter,\" he said without
\nelaborating further.<\/p>\n
He appealed to \"all parties and factions not to exploit\" the
\nmatter \"to gain some personal benefits or to try to injure
\nanother party\".<\/p>\n
However, Awad did not specify which parts of the Palestinian
\ndelegation's statement were misinterpreted or what the
\nmisunderstanding was. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/palestinian-ambassador-row-settled-minister-1447893297",
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