Indonesian embassy explains

Indonesian embassy explains

From Kompas

The Indonesian Embassy in London highly appreciates Insan Budi
Maulana for his great concern over the tendency of foreign media
to present a negative picture of Indonesia, mainly concerning the
issue of human rights (Kompas, Dec. 24, 1994).

We are very proud of the fact that Indonesian citizens are
very patriotic. This is a valuable asset for us in our struggle
to improve the image of our country, and at the same time to
check the flow of false information from foreign media.

If Mr Maulana visited the Indonesian Embassy in London before
writing his letter to Kompas, perhaps he would have a different
opinion. We have a lot of records and clippings of news articles
from both English and Indonesian newspapers. From the documents
he would be able to see that the Embassy always counters bad
press and is often engaged in disputes with the English press,
NGOs or individuals who are concerned with the problems of human
rights in Indonesia.

In this case, we often have to oppose BBC Channel 4 which is
always ready to present news about Indonesia which is negative in
nature. We do this because it is one of our basic jobs. The
Indonesian Embassy in London is always available for interviews
with all parties, and never fails to attend forums such as
discussions, seminars and debates on Indonesia.

We appreciate Mr. Maulana's criticism which, we believe, is
expressed out of a high sense of patriotism, free from certain
implications.

MRS HENDRATI S MUNTHE

Head of Information Division

Indonesian Embassy

London, UK