Foreign Ministry not informed of Moslems' Israel trip
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it had no prior knowledge of the visit a group of Indonesian Moslems made to Israel last week.
A group of leaders from the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI) yesterday went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enquire about recent press reports out of Jerusalem suggesting that a group of "Indonesian Moslem leaders" were in town to attend the peace signing between Israel and Jordan. The delegation, led by Johan Effendi, also met with an official of the Israeli foreign ministry.
Yesterday, the KISDI delegation met with Irawan Abidin, the director of information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lodge their complaint about the visit.
Led by Hussein Umar and Ahmad Sumargono, KISDI, which in the past has mobilized other Moslem protests, demanded that the ministry and other institutions, including the immigration office, investigate the visit.
"There must be something wrong with coordination inside the bureaucracy," Sumargono told The Jakarta Post after the meeting. "How could a group of people, which reportedly numbered over several dozens, just slip out under their noses?"
"This Johan Effendi is not even a Moslem leader." Sumargono said.
The influential Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) has also criticized the visit.
Sumargono backed the statement of MUI chairman K.H. Hasan Basri that the "delegation" led by Johan Effendi was "used by the Israeli government to undermine the friendly ties between Indonesia and Arab countries."
"We want to see a calm, peaceful situation, especially in the face of the coming APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, but the government should clarify the matter to appease Moslems."
During the meeting yesterday Irawan expressed surprise over the visit, according to KISDI officials.
Irawan pointed out that this is the second time his office was left in the dark about such a visit to Israel.
The first incident was a February visit made by a group of Indonesian journalists, including Nasir Tamara of the Republika daily which is affiliated with the influential Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI).
The ensuing reactions were strong; hundreds of Moslem youths staged protests over the visit which they said offended Moslems in Indonesia and in the Arabian countries.
Cautious
Irawan said that it would be best for Indonesia to be cautious in its relations with Israel as it remains a sensitive issue for many Indonesian Moslems, according to KISDI officials.
He gave his assurances that Indonesia supports the efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli issue in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No. 242/1967, Resolution No. 338/1973, and Resolution No. 425/1978.
The Indonesian Moslems' visit to Israel was reported by the AFP news agency on Friday. The report said that the "Moslem leaders delegation" was in the Middle East to attend the signing ceremony of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty on Wednesday.
AFP quoted Danny Shek, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, as saying that in their meeting with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin the "Moslem leaders" called for enhanced relations between Indonesia and Israel.
They also emphasized that all religions have the obligation to shun violence and terrorism.
The press reports said yesterday that Johan Effendi and his entourage were still in Israel. Johan, 55, was installed as a senior research specialist in the field of religious and social studies at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1992. He graduated from the Sunan Kalijaga Islamic Institute in Yogyakarta in 1972. (swe)