RI slams Lee over terrorist remarks<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia reproached Singapore on Wednesday over Senior
\nMinister Lee Kuan Yew's remarks that terrorist leaders were
\nroaming free here, warning that the comments were unnecessary and
\ncould harm bilateral relations.<\/p>\n
Officials here made it clear that Indonesia would not employ
\ndraconian measures to summarily arrest and detain individuals
\nbased on suspicion alone.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday
\nsummoned Singapore's top diplomat in Jakarta, charge d'affair
\nWong Chow Ming, who came on behalf of Ambassador Edward Lee who
\nwas out of the country, to officially express these concerns.<\/p>\n
\"We have expressed our displeasure and asked Singapore to
\nprovide clarification of Lee's statement,\" acting Director
\nGeneral for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
\nRezlan Izhar Jenie told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We regret Singapore's decision to voice its concerns to the
\nmedia, when we have a diplomatic channel and many forms of
\ncooperation in dealing with terrorism issues in the region,\" he
\nsaid, in obvious reference to the fact that both are fellow
\nmembers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
Lee, in an earlier newspaper interview, said the city-state
\nremained vulnerable to terrorist attacks, as regional terrorist
\nleaders were still roaming free in Indonesia, implying that the
\nauthorities have allowed the country to become a terrorist-haven
\nand have done nothing against suspected terrorists.<\/p>\n
Singapore had alleged earlier that Southeast Asian group
\nJemaah Islamiyah was linked to the international terrorist
\nnetwork, al-Qaeda, through Indonesian Muslim cleric Abubakar
\nBa'asyir.<\/p>\n
Police have questioned Ba'asyir but found insufficient
\nevidence to link him to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
\"We (Indonesia) cannot arrest anybody simply based on
\nsuspicion. Our own investigations have not shown any strong
\nevidence supporting such an accusation,\" Rezlan said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, Rezlan added, does not have and does not want to
\nhave an Internal Security Act, which in a state like Singapore
\nallows police to detain individuals suspected of endangering the
\nstate indefinitely without trial.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, who was in Kuala
\nLumpur on Wednesday, also expressed concern that Lee's statement
\nwould hurt bilateral ties.<\/p>\n
\"Lee's remark is unnecessary\" and would \"provoke sentiments
\nthat may only hamper development or good bilateral relations
\nbetween Indonesia and Singapore,\" Hassan said, as quoted by AP.<\/p>\n
Sure enough, in Jakarta, reactions toward Lee were harsh.<\/p>\n
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi said Lee's bias
\nwas triggered by the false generalization that all radical
\nreligious groups were linked to terrorist networks.<\/p>\n
\"Some tiny Muslim groups here are radical in their religious
\nthoughts, but so long as they are not destructive and they don't
\nharm others, they can't be named or linked to terrorist
\nnetworks,\" Hasyim said.<\/p>\n
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais also fired a
\nbroadside at Singapore's senior statesman charging that the 78-
\nyear-old Lee \"acted like the mouthpiece of President Bush\".<\/p>\n
\"He has intervened in other people's internal affairs,\" Amien
\nsaid, while urging Singapore to be more \"understanding and
\nrespectful toward its neighbors\".<\/p>\n
Amien added that Singapore should formally apologize if it
\ncould not produce concrete evidence to support Lee's remarks.<\/p>\n
While ties remain sound between the two countries, there has
\nbeen heighten tension, with increasingly sharp comments being
\nhurled between the two in the past few years.<\/p>\n
Former president B.J. Habibie once complained that
\nSingapore was not \"a true friend in times of need\" and dismissed
\nit as \"a tiny red dot\" on the map.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid had also accused the city
\nstate of taking economic advantage of Indonesia's crisis.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-slams-lee-over-terrorist-remarks-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}