Indonesia impartial on Iraq-Kuwait rift
Indonesia impartial on Iraq-Kuwait rift
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has affirmed its impartiality and willingness to listen to the positions of both Kuwait and Iraq in their on-going dispute, but has reiterated its desire to see a lessening of United Nations' sanctions against Baghdad.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas yesterday stated that Indonesia, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, would be sensitive to arguments either to increase or lessen the 1990 embargo on Iraq, imposed after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the same year.
"We always try to maintain a balanced position," Alatas said following a meeting with visiting Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister, Sulaiman M. Al-Shaheen, yesterday morning.
However Alatas said that if Iraq abided by UN resolutions then Indonesia would explore the possibility of reducing the imposed sanctions.
Al-Shaheen was here to convey a letter from Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah in which the sheikh appeals for Indonesia's support when the sanctions come under review in March.
Al-Shaheen's trip is part of an aggressive campaign by the Kuwaiti government to garner support for maintaining of strict sanctions against Baghdad.
Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh al-Sabah will himself be embarking on a 12-country tour, including Britain, France and Italy, for the same purpose.
Permanent Security Council members, such as France, have stated their inclination to soften the crippling sanctions which include an embargo on Iraqi oil exports.
During a visit here by Iraqi foreign minister Mohammad Said al-Sahaf in April, Indonesia pledged its support in alleviating the sanctions and said it would pursue the matter through the Non-Aligned Movement's UN caucus in New York.
Indonesia is currently chair of the 111-nation Non-Aligned Movement, which includes both Kuwait and Iraq as members.
According to Al-Shaheen, even though Iraq has recognized Kuwait's sovereignty, it has yet to release some 625 Kuwaiti prisoners captured during the war, Alatas said yesterday.
Speaking to journalists at the Kuwaiti embassy here yesterday afternoon, Al-Shaheen said that information on the number of prisoners still detained came from the International Commission of the Red Cross.
"Kuwait regards the issue of prisoners as one of humanity. Iraq is using them as a tool of political coercion," he said.
Another matter that is still unresolved is the question of property taken during Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. This includes priceless books and documents stolen from Kuwaiti libraries, says Al-Shaheen.
Al-Shaheen also condemned Baghdad's human rights record and accused Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction which it has not disclosed.
When asked about the results of his meetings here, Al-Shaheen said that Alatas had given a "positive" response.
He praised Indonesia for taking a firm stand condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and again called for support in ensuring that Iraq fully complies with the UN sanctions.
Alatas has stressed that Indonesia will continue to pursue the possibility of reducing the sanctions but denied that Jakarta's stance would cause friction with either Iraq or Kuwait.
"Indonesia will put Indonesia's position," Alatas said in reply to a suggestion that Jakarta would be representing the position of either Iraq or Kuwait's.(mds)