RI lift ban on Japanese scholar

RI lift ban on Japanese scholar

TOKYO (DPA): A Japanese scholar who has been barred from entering Indonesia because of pro-democracy activities will visit the country for the first time in 18 years Sunday.

Akihisa Matsuno, 42, associate professor of Indonesian language at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies, will speak about the importance of global civic solidarity at an academic meeting in Jakarta.

The two-day meeting, to start Monday, will focus on pursuit of civil societies in Asia, Matsuno said.

"The fact that I am allowed to visit Indonesia proves that the democratization process is steadily going on in the country," Matsuno said.

The scholar, who studied at Udayana University in Bali in 1979 and visited Indonesia four times by 1981, has been a steady supporter of democracy in the country and has also promoted movements to settle conflicts in East Timor, the former Portuguese colony which was integrated into Indonesia in 1976.

He began supporting East Timorese and refugees from the territory in 1985 by working with Japanese civic groups. Matsuno attempted to enter Indonesia for academic meetings in June 1987 and November last year, but was refused entrance at airports without being given a reason. He attributes the rejection to his support for movements against former President Soeharto, whose 32-year rule collapsed in May last year.