Arab-RI relationship

In reference to what was quoted by Antara and published in The Jakarta Post (Dec. 20, 2002, page 4) concerning Ahmed Syafii Ma'arif's views about diplomats from Middle Eastern countries, on behalf of the Arab ambassadors and heads of missions, I would like to note the following:

We highly respect Syafii as an honest scholar and great leader who contributes positively in enhancing Indonesian/Arab relations, especially the cultural aspects. However, it would have been appropriate to invite the Arab ambassadors and heads of missions to participate in the seminar at which Syafii spoke about the relationship between Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries.

Regrettably, none of these envoys were invited to the seminar despite the fact that it was about "the relationship between Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries". So they were not given the opportunity to discuss the different aspects of Arab/Indonesian relations in an objective, frank and transparent manner, and to explain how deep and comprehensive those relations are.

With due respect to the views expressed by Syafii, we consider them to be subjective and do not reflect the realities of Indonesian/Arab relations.

RIBHI Y. AWAD, Ambassador of the State of Palestine, Dean of the Arab Ambassadors, Council, Jakarta