RI formally protests flag burning incident

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has sent a formal note to the Australian government protesting the burning of an Indonesian flag during a demonstration in Melbourne last week.

Antara quoted Irawan Abidin, the chief spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying that the incident did take place and that this had been confirmed by no less than Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans to his Indonesian counterpart Ali Alatas when the two met in Brunei last week.

"Evans put it in writing," Irawan told the news agency.

"The Indonesian embassy (in Canberra) has sent a strong protest to show the disappointment of our people with the incident," he added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to take follow-up actions over the protest, Irawan said. He did not elaborate.

There is still confusion, however, as to whether the flag burning incident actually did take place.

Many senior government officials reacted strongly when the incident was first reported by an Indonesian newspaper last Tuesday, with some warning that it could undermine relations between the two countries.

But the Armed Forces (ABRI) headquarters on Wednesday put out a statement saying that the incident never occurred and that the strong reactions from senior officials, including some top military officers, were therefore unwarranted.

ABRI said it had checked with Indonesian missions in Australia and also military attaches posted in Australia, neither of whom could corroborate the veracity of the incident.

The Melbourne demonstration was one of several held simultaneously on Monday to oppose Indonesia's participation in Kangaroo 95, an international military exercise launched on Aug. 1.

Following the latest development, ABRI's chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Soewarno Adiwijoyo, has ordered the military attaches in Canberra to recheck reports of the flag burning incident, Antara reported.

The Indonesian protest comes in the wake of Jakarta's decision to vacate the embassy in Canberra for an indefinite period.

Indonesia withdrew the nomination of Lt. Gen. (ret.) H.B.L. Mantiri in June for the ambassadorial post due to the controversy generated by the appointment in Australia.

Mantiri's nomination had already been accepted by Canberra and many officials and politicians, including Evans himself. His appointment was later questioned for a statement Mantiri made to the press in 1992 condoning the military's action in East Timor the previous year.

Indonesia's last ambassador to Australia, Sabam Siagian, returned to Jakarta last month. (emb)