RI remains against ties with Israel

RI remains against ties with Israel

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia remains firmly against establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and refutes suggestions that a peace agreement between Damascus and Tel Aviv would be a precursor to ties with Jakarta.

"That's what he thinks...We continue to remain in our position," Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas told The Jakarta Post yesterday when asked to comment on Israeli Finance Minister Abraham Shohat's statement that formal ties will soon be established.

Shohat said on Friday in New Delhi that ties with Indonesia and Malaysia would be formed not longer after a peace with Syria was established, which he believed would come soon.

Shohat was speaking at the end of a five-nation tour of Asia which included Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Both Indonesia and Malaysia are predominantly Moslem countries whose populations remain adamantly opposed to the Jewish state.

Indonesia strongly opposes Israel for its occupation of Palestinian territory. However, it has expressed its support for the current peace process and the breakthrough it has provided for Palestinian self-rule.

"Our position remains the same. Diplomatic relations with Israel can only begin after the resolution of the Palestinian question and the Arab-Israeli conflict," Alatas said at his office yesterday afternoon.

Indications that Jakarta and Tel Aviv have been slowly reconciling began when Israeli Prime Minister, the late Yitzhak Rabin, visited Jakarta in October 1993 for a few hours.

Officials at the time stressed that the meeting was held on Rabin's request and that President Soeharto was acting mainly in his capacity as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Last October, Soeharto and Rabin again held a half-hour parley in New York when the two attended the 50th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations.

Officials at the time were rather nonchalant when asked whether bilateral issues were discussed during the meeting.

This was the last meeting between the two heads state before Rabin was assassinated just two weeks later.(mds)