Indonesia mulls options against Swedish govt
Indonesia mulls options against Swedish govt
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia is considering options to downgrade ties with Sweden
over the latter's refusal to take action against Aceh rebel
leaders who have claimed Swedish citizenship amid pressure to
severe diplomatic ties altogether.
The ministry of foreign affairs drafted the options in a
meeting at the residence of foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda on
Sunday, said ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa.
"We have been identifying several diplomatic options regarding
the (rejection) letter ... some of these options are
complementary and some are alternatives," Marty told The Jakarta
Post.
When asked whether the options included a possible downgrading
of relations with Sweden, he answered, "It has been discussed
among officials, but this will be decided at a Cabinet meeting as
soon as possible."
On Saturday, Sweden officially rejected Indonesia's request to
take actions the leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
separatists Hasan Tiro, Malik Mahmood and Abdullah Zaini, who are
Swedish nationals.
The request was made almost at the same time as Jakarta
launched a military operation in Aceh on May 19 following the
collapse of peace talks.
Indonesia also issued a "red notice" to Interpol to arrest the
three Swedish GAM leaders. Last Friday, another "red notice" was
issued against GAM leaders Zakariah Zaman in Thailand and Mohamad
Noer bin Ibrahim in Malaysia.
In Sweden's letter of response, Foreign Minister Anna Lindh
said her government refused to take action against the GAM
leaders.
Lindh said, as quoted by Reuters, that while her government
accepted Indonesia's "full territorial rights" over Aceh, no
action would be taken against the GAM leaders.
"Of course it is very sensitive for us and a difficult
situation," she said. "At the same time, we have Swedish laws
which say that as long as you don't commit any crimes against
Swedish law, the government can't interfere."
Amid a surge of nationalist sentiment here, the rejection
stirred angry responses among politicians.
Legislators who have joined the bandwagon of patriotism since
the onset of the Aceh war suggested the government sever
bilateral ties with Sweden.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung threw his support behind the
move. "Should Sweden fail to pay attention to our request, then
the government may take any action necessary, including cutting
ties with that country," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
One of the strongest criticisms has come from People's
Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who demanded outright
that Indonesia end its relationship with Sweden. "We have to show
that our request is serious," he said on Sunday.
Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, a senior diplomat and Indonesia's chief
negotiator during the peace talks with GAM, also questioned
Sweden's stance: "I have an impression that their definition of a
'friendly country' is questionable.
"There are limits in protecting freedom of expression,
otherwise they (Sweden) will become a haven for troublemakers,"
the diplomat told the Post.
If diplomatic ties with Sweden are severed, it would be the
third time Jakarta has taken such a move against another country.
Indonesia's first president Sukarno, also the father of
incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, severed ties with
Malaysia in 1963, while his successor Soeharto severed diplomatic
ties with China in 1966.
Indonesia restored bilateral relations with Malaysia in 1967
and with China in 1990.