Bot takes 'sensitive', global stance on RI-Dutch ties
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Rudolf Bot met with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda on Thursday. Taking time off from his busy schedule while in Jakarta, Bot spoke with Suara Pembaruan, Kompas and The Jakarta Post at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Central Jakarta. The following is an excerpt of the interview with Bot, who was born in Batavia, as Jakarta was formerly known:
Has the European Union decided whether to attend the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hanoi in October?
We have a special representative, Mr. Van den Broek, to explore the situation and to see the member countries' reactions, and to explore the responsibility toward a constructive approach to the problems.
There will be an informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the 25 member states. There we will decide what we are going to do. There is a positive approach to solve this problem. I can only tell you that in principle we are looking for a solution that will permit us to be present. And, of course, it will also depend on the ASEAN side and the organizing countries.
We would like to see some signals also from your side that you are trying to exert some pressure on Myanmar to improve its human rights situation. They all have to do something about Aung San Suu Kyi and its isolated position. So any improvement would be welcomed, and we would love to see the signals also from the countries of the region that they are trying to do their best to help us. Because I think that human rights is not only a question of Europe, but also a question of global concern, also your concern and we should tackle this problem together ....
What is the present status of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI)?
We have resumed the aid. We have contributed in the meantime more than five million euros to Indonesia for education, health projects and infrastructure. We have tried our best and of course we are quite willing to be helpful. We're scheduling new debt but the debt from the Netherlands is not the same as many countries.
There are perceptions that Maluku people in the Netherlands are involved in the conflict in Ambon.
The Netherlands' foreign policy is based on respect for the territorial integrity of Indonesia, and that concerns of all conflicts. We had a discussion with a group of Moluccans in the Netherlands who have been living there for a very long time, and in most of the cases ... they participate normally in our everyday life; we are very happy with them and if they have complaints we listen to them, but that does not mean that we stimulate movements or whatever it is. That is not our policy.
How do you see the present relationship between the two countries?
The fact is we have a very sensitive relationship. So, on one hand, there is a great interest in Indonesia. And I think in the Netherlands, almost every Dutch person has an Indonesian link, either because his parents were born here or because his family has been here for one reason or another. I do not know of hardly any Dutch families that do not have some sort of attachment to Indonesia.
So there is a great sense of sensitivity on the one hand, especially on your side, and there is a very great interest on their side, a willingness, let's say, to get to know each other better and to be helpful. Development aid, culture, whatever we can do.
On the other hand, this is a huge country. When we talk about education, it is still somehow underdeveloped in some parts of this country. That means also that the younger generation does not have a great chance to learn about the history in the past, and the way in which we dealt with each other.
So we are interested in promoting the Netherlands, but we want to do it in such a way that we won't raise suspicion, that we take into account the sensitivity that exists. So it has to be done in a careful way, respecting the feelings here. That is a very difficult task, but that absolutely is the great interest. At the same time, we realize that the country has so many inhabitants .... There was bitterness, there is determination, it has to be forgetting, you know, to start with a a clean slate, then it is easier to restart. There is a great willingness on that side.
What do you expect from the meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri and presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono?
It is not up to me to say what I expect from them. I think it's the Indonesian people that have to expect something from them. When I met the President, of course, it was up to the President to indicate the subjects she wanted to talk about. And I must say that I was happy to find the issues discussed; many items from all the situations in the world, education, relationships between the two countries, the global situation in Iraq and how it influences stability in the world.
We discussed economics, a very wide array of subjects in a very frank manner, and I was very much impressed by her knowledge and her interest in that subject.
With Mr. Yudhoyono, we will discuss more about development in Indonesia, so if I can be more direct in my questions, what interests me is how does a presidential candidate see the future of Indonesia. What are the elements of particular interest, what is his first priority, last priority, and what does he expect to do in four, five years, because that will also influence our bilateral relationship. How can we contribute again in the most constructive manner, and also how to channel our development aid? And we're looking forward to this meeting. (Bot is scheduled to meet with Susilo at the Regent Hotel in South Jakarta on Friday.)