Palestinian Ambassador row settled: Minister

Palestinian Ambassador row settled: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): The government said on Monday that the row
between Jakarta and Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Ribhi
Awad over his purported criticism of the government's stance over
the Middle East crisis was considered settled.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Palestinian
envoy, Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab said the government would not
pursue its intention of seeking Awad's replacement.

"He has made a clarification and correction that there has
been a misunderstanding and that the Palestinians have never felt
that they had been abandoned by the Indonesian government," Alwi
said.

"I think it is not necessary to continue with this case," he
added.

The controversy erupted in Jakarta last week when the head of
the Palestinian delegation to the International Parliamentary
Union (IPU) conference, Salem Al-Za'noon, after meeting with
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, expressed
disappointment with the Indonesian government for failing to
support Palestine during the recent conflict with Israel.

Al-Za'noon further criticized President Abdurrahman Wahid's
refusal to resign from the Shimon Peres Foundation, which he
claimed helped fund Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.

The criticism came as a surprise because Indonesia has
remained an adamant supporter of the Palestinian cause. Jakarta
has also repeatedly refused to recognize and open diplomatic ties
with Israel.

In Seoul last week, Alwi put the blame for the Palestinian
statement on Ambassador Awad's failure to convey accurate
information on Indonesia's stance on the Middle East crisis.

He said at the time that he would seek clarification from Awad
once he returned to Jakarta and if the latter failed to make a
clarification, Jakarta would write to Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat requesting him to send a new envoy.

Awad said on Monday that "there has been a 100 percent
misinterpretation and misunderstanding".

"I deplore in the name of the Palestinians the attitude of
some circles who tried to exploit the matter," he said without
elaborating further.

He appealed to "all parties and factions not to exploit" the
matter "to gain some personal benefits or to try to injure
another party".

However, Awad did not specify which parts of the Palestinian
delegation's statement were misinterpreted or what the
misunderstanding was. (byg)