Alatas: No official ties with Israel
Alatas: No official ties with Israel
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday that although contacts between people in Indonesia and Israel are growing, diplomatic relations remain unlikely in the near future.
"Yes, presently there are personal contacts. Maybe soon there might be trade relations," Alatas said when asked about reports of increasing ties between the two states.
Early this month, executives of Koors Industries Ltd, Israel's biggest industrial concern, visited Indonesia to explore business prospects. It is not immediately clear who they met in Indonesia as their visit was not covered by the press.
Alatas emphasized that on a government level, Indonesia remains faithful to its policy that a comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem be established before it opens diplomatic ties with Israel.
"Our stance has not changed," he said.
Public attitude towards unofficial contacts with Israel have become less critical now with more and more Indonesians making pilgrimage to the Al Aqsa (Dome of the Rock) Mosque, a Moslem holy shrine, in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Only two years ago, a group of Indonesian journalists were widely criticized for visiting Israel at the invitation of the Jewish state. A group of Moslem leaders received similar treatment when they traveled to Israel last year.
Alatas said that while personal contacts between the two countries are growing, the government would not be hasty in changing its policy. "Let's not take things too fast. We have to do this slowly," he said.
In the absence of diplomatic ties, President Soeharto met the late Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, on two occasions in the last three years: in Jakarta in 1993 when Soeharto was chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in New York last October during 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday issued a statement expressing regret over Sunday's bombing in Jerusalem and Ashqelon that left 25 people dead.
"The government of Indonesia hopes that these acts of violence will not hamper the ongoing peace process in the Middle East," the statement said. (mds)