Indonesia's Abstention Regretted
Tuesday, 16 January, 2007 | 15:07 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Chairman of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Inter Parliamentary on Myanmar Caucus, Djoko Susilo, conveyed his disappointment on the abstention of attitude of Indonesia's delegation during the United Nations Security Council's session discussing the resolution for Myanmar, Friday (12/1). “As a country which respects human rights, Indonesia shouldn’t have abstained,” said the member of the House Commission for Foreign Affairs , yesterday (15/1).

He said this means Indonesia does not appreciate the nation's goal. “If it does, this can change Indonesia's image in the international world,” he said.
The Foreign Affairs Commission, he said, will urge the Foreign Affairs Department to cover the impact of the abstention.

A similar opinion was held by another Foreign Affairs Commission member, Marzuki Darusman. Indonesia's neutral position is wrong.

In response to the matter, spokesperson, concurrently Director of International Security and Disarmament at the Foreign Affairs Department, Desra Percaya, said that Indonesia's neutral attitude was because Indonesia regarded Myanmar's situation as not strong enough to make the country a threat against world peace and security. Thus, Indonesia decided to abstain from the vote to the draft resolution proposed by the UN Security Council.
“The background of this decision is substantial, procedural and effective,” he said.

Those reasons, said Desra, have been included in Indonesia's letter addressed to UN Security Council's President, Friday. The letter which was signed by Indonesia's Permanent Ambassador for the UN, Reslan Izhar Jenie, stated that procedurally, the Myanmar issue must be discussed by the UN Human Rights Council.

Substantially, what happened in Myanmar is more of upholding human rights and democracy, not the world's security or a peace threat. “Indonesia also questions the resolution's effectiveness,” said Desra.

Eko AW and Titis S