PMI emblem

Allow us first to thank The Jakarta Post for the presence of one of its reporters at a recent one-day seminar on the Red Cross emblem and for the report on the seminar in this newspaper of Aug. 13, 1998 (Page 2).

While the report is generally good and consistent with the seminar, it must be made clear that the secretary-general of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) did not say during the seminar that a permit from the International Committee of the Red Cross must be obtained before one can use the Red Cross emblem in Indonesia.

The following is Article 8 of Chapter IV of the statute/internal rules of the PMI:

1. The PMI adopts the Red Cross emblem on a white base as a sign of protection, in line with the stipulation laid down by the International Red Cross.

2. The emblem of the PMI as a member of the International Red Cross Society is a Red Cross on a white base.

3. The emblem of the PMI as a national society is a Red Cross on a white base inside a five-petal flower.

The Indonesian Red Cross was legalized by the Republic of Indonesia government by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 25/1950 and Presidential Decree No. 246/1963. By virtue of Law No. 59/1950 the Republic of Indonesia ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions, in which there is a general provision on the said emblem. On June 15, 1950, the PMI got recognition from the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) and on Oct. 17, 1950 the PMI was accepted as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation.

Clearly, the ICRC only extends recognition to the existence of the PMI and is not an institution granting a permit for the use of the Red Cross emblem.

DR. H. SOESANTO MANGOENSADJITO

Secretary-General

Central Executive Board

The Indonesian Red Cross

Jakarta