Leaving Indonesia is painful, says Sudanese ambassador

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In 2001, when he was posted to Indonesia, Siddig Yousif Abu-Agla was hesitant about coming to Indonesia because it was a new place and he never served in Southeast Asia before.

After having served as Sudan's top diplomat in Indonesia for four years, Ambassador Abu-Agla now has a similar hesitation in leaving Indonesia after the end of his term.

"That's the magic of Indonesia. Really, it's a wonderful land. I and my family fully enjoyed our four-year stay. For us, it's a painful moment to leave Indonesia and hundreds of our Indonesian friends, brothers and sisters," Abu-Agla, who submitted his credentials to then-president Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sept. 5, 2001, told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview recently at his office in Jakarta.

Abu-Agla, who is an experienced diplomat, and his family will be leaving Jakarta by end of this month.

For some time, Sudan -- Africa's largest country in terms of area -- has been in the international media spotlight over its handling of the refugee situation in Darfur.

But the stature of Sudan, which has close and cordial relations with Indonesia, is completely different, as evidenced by the dozen parties organized by different groups and organizations to bid farewell to Ambassador Abu-Agla in recent weeks.

A country is strengthened not by great men with small views, but by small men with great views.

Abu-Agla is one of the Sudan's small men with great views who enhanced his country's stature in the world's nation with the largest number of Muslims, Indonesia.

"We have excellent relations with Indonesia. Our relations began even before our independence. Indonesia invited Sudan in 1955 to attend the Bandung Conference. It was the Bandung Conference that provided an international platform for Sudan, which was not fully independent at that time," Abu-Agla, who is closely associated with several educational institutions and women's groups, said.

During his term in Indonesia, Abu-Agla - who speaks fluent Arabic, English and passive Indonesian -- worked hard to enhance bilateral cooperation in the education sector.

"We have opened a Sudanese Center for Islamic Studies in the Malang State University, East Java. Every year, we give 70 scholarships to Indonesian students. We also facilitated academic exchanges between Sudanese and Indonesian universities," Abu-Agla said.

Many people wonder how an ambassador from Sudan can be so popular among Indonesian people.

When asked about his secret, Abu-Agla said he is not only a diplomat but also a student who always likes to mingle with Indonesian friends without regard to distinction.

Abu-Agla is currently registered as a Ph.D. student at the University of Khartoum.

There is a saying that a friend is not an object to be possessed but a subject to cherished. It seems Abu-Agla followed this concept and made friends everywhere.

"During my stay in Indonesia, I never missed a single program where I was invited. Indonesian people are very friendly to me. They received me as their brother. Be it the Speaker of the DPR (House of Representatives) Bapak Agung Laksono, or MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) Bapak Hidayat Nurwahid, or members of the Cabinet, they are all my friends," Abu-Agla said.

Gandhi Memorial International School (GMIS) chairman Suresh G. Vaswani commended Abu-Agla as not only a diplomat but a good person who has lot of interest in education.

"Ambassador visited our school so many times and gave us advice on several matters. We proudly say he is our true friend," Suresh, who hosted a special farewell party for Abu-Agla, said.

Abu-Agla's three children studied at the GMIS.

The 57-year-old Abu-Agla, who was born in the Sudanese town of Medani, joined the foreign service in 1971 after completion of his B.A. degree at the prestigious University of Khartoum with an intention of serving his country abroad.

Abu-Agla's distinguished 34-year diplomatic career began in the Central African Republic as third secretary. Throughout his career, he performed a duel role: as a diplomat and as a student.

He obtained his M.A. degree in public administration in 1977 from the American University of Beirut when he was working as charge'd affairs.

It was the peak period of Lebanon's civil war. The young Abu- Agla was performing as a diplomat as well as a peacemaker while studying during 1975-1978. Sudan was a leader of the international peacekeeping force.

"That was the toughest period of my life. Luckily, I was able to perform my level best. I learned a lot about diplomacy, especially peace diplomacy in Lebanon. For my services, I received ARZ-National Lebanese Medal from the Lebanese government," said Abu-Agla, who is married and has five children.

The Sudanese government also conferred on him the Duty Med- First Class award for his exemplary performance in Lebanon during the war period.

When he was working as a counselor in Ottawa, Canada, Abu-Agla received his degree in international development from Carleton University Ottawa in 1982. He was also the minister at the Sudan's embassy in London during 1985-1990.

Abu-Agla, who also served in United Arab Emirates (1974-1975) and Algeria (1982-1983), received a fellowship in 1998 to study peacemaking and preventive diplomacy in Austria.

Thanks to this fellowship, Abu-Agla earned a lot of fame in Sudan when he was working as director of international organizations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Khartoum.

In 1993, Abu-Agla -- who loves reading and visiting friends -- became Sudan's ambassador to Morocco. Prior to his posting in Jakarta, Abu-Agla was director-general of planning, research and information at the ministry of foreign affairs.

During the last four years, according to Abu-Agla, relations between Sudan and Indonesia have grown stronger.

"In the early period of my term, Indonesia's (then) President Megawati visited Sudan (February 2002) and at the end of my career our President Omar Hassan al-Bashir visited Indonesia in April 2005. Both countries signed several agreements, memorandum of understandings to strengthen the relations in various sectors. They are growing in the right direction," Abu-Agla said.