Confusion resign over presence of Israelis

Confusion resign over presence of Israelis

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Confusion reigns over the presence or otherwise of the Israeli delegates at the preparatory committee meeting on sustainable development in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The United Nations and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the delegates had not officially registered themselves at the national committee, while the committee's executive director Erna Witoelar said that two Israeli delegates were already in Bali.

The presence of the Israeli delegates is a sensitive issue here, as some Muslim groups, including the militant Laskar Jihad, have threatened to stage a protest against Israel's actions against Palestinians.

Pragati J. Pascale, a senior official at the UN Department of Public Information, said that the Israeli government had not yet even expressed its interest in attending the meeting.

It is difficult to predict whether Israeli delegates would attend the event.

"This is an open meeting, and countries are not obliged to attend the meeting," said Pascale.

Wahid Supriyadi, the senior media officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also a member of the national committee, said the Israeli delegates were absent on Monday.

"We haven't got information yet from the protocol that there are Israeli delegates at the meeting. On the spot checking has showed the same results that they are yet to appear at the meeting," Wahid said on Monday night.

The statements from both authorities contradicted Erna's statement in the Kompas daily newspaper.

Erna was quoted as saying that two Israeli delegates had registered directly with the United Nations before the meeting started on Monday.

More than 2,000 delegates from more than 140 countries out of a total of 189 countries expected to send delegates had registered with the national committee as of Monday.

More delegates were expected to arrive later on.