Foreign Ministry not informed of Moslems' Israel trip

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)