Alatas denies ban on Roeslan speech in the Netherlands

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas denied yesterday that the Indonesian embassy in The Hague has prevented senior statesman Roeslan Abdulgani from making a public speech before Indonesian students in the Netherlands.

Alatas told reporters yesterday that Roeslan had gone to the Netherlands on a mission from President Soeharto and it was unlikely that the embassy would bar him from making the speech.

"It is unlikely that the embassy deliberately ignored Pak Roeslan. The ambassador (in the Netherlands) has a duty there and cannot let personal matters affect his job.

"I think this is simply a case of miscommunication or misunderstanding. I have also contacted the ambassador, and I hope this matter could be cleared soon," he said.

"Let's not blow this issue out of proportion," Alatas told reporters.

Roeslan, whose previous public offices include foreign minister in 1956-1957 and chief adviser to President Soeharto on ideological matters, has gone public about the mishap that befell him in the Netherlands last week.

He said he had been asked to cancel the speaking engagement in The Hague because it did not have the approval of the embassy.

He said no one from the embassy met him when he was in the Netherlands. In contrast, he was met by embassy officials during his stops in Paris and London, two other capitals that he visited during his recent European tour.

Indonesia's ambassador to the Netherlands, J.B. Soedarmanto Kadarisman, denied that he issued a ban against Roeslan and said the embassy had tried to relocate the venue of the gathering because the original site, a mosque, was considered too small.

A few days earlier, Soedarmanto met with Roeslan in London, when they were attending a meeting of Indonesian student leaders in Europe.

Alatas later yesterday afternoon left for Beijing for a three- day official visit in response to an invitation from his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen.

The visit comes on the heels of the disclosure that Indonesia had sent a diplomatic note to Beijing querying an official Beijing map which puts Indonesia's Natuna islands in the South China Sea within dotted lines, making it appear that the islands come under Chinese sovereignty.

Beijing has not formally responded to the note but an official of the Chinese foreign ministry early this month said China was prepared to negotiate over the question of border delineation in the South China Sea with Indonesia.

The Chinese gesture was quickly rejected by Indonesia, with Alatas saying that Indonesia had no border dispute with China.

Asked whether he plans to discuss the border issue, Alatas yesterday said: "Not specifically. Of course we will sit down together and discuss various issues, everything that can be discussed, including the matter in the South China Sea. But it will not be a specific issue or a negotiation.

"On this issue, Indonesia's position is clear," he said.

Alatas said he would raise the issue of Chinese plans to continue with nuclear testing, especially in view of the comprehensive test ban treaty, which China also signed. (emb/mds)