Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has responded angrily over
a move by pro-Papua independence activists who have offered a bounty for his
arrest when he visits the United Kingdom next month.
Presidential spokesperson Julian
Aldrin Pasha said that Yudhoyono was angry over what the group referred to as
his planned "citizen's arrest" and said that the publicity stunt
could harm relations between Indonesia and the United Kingdom.
Pasha said that the President,
would not file a complaint with the UK government and that it would not affect
the trip to London.
"We have spoken with the
British Embassy in Jakarta about the issue, because, frankly, the campaign has
hurt the relationship between Indonesia and the UK," Pasha said yesterday.
Yudhoyono is scheduled visit
Britain from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 to attend celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's
diamond jubilee.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron
delivered the invitation for the jubilee personally during a state visit to
Jakarta in April.
Pasha said Yudhoyono's visit to
London has been planned to enhance ties between the two nations.
"The Indonesia-UK
relationship is too precious to be disrupted by such a cheap act. The British
government, through its embassy in Jakarta, shared the opinion that we need not
respond excessively. We do need clarification to ensure the public understands
the situation," he said.
Pasha said that the arrest plan
made little sense.
"It is not possible for the
President, in his capacity as a head of a state, to be detained or arrested.
The President's security and safety during his visit to the UK has been fully
guaranteed by the UK government. The London Metropolitan Police have guaranteed
that the plan will not materialise," Pasha added.
The Free West Papua campaign,
which is believed to be based in Great Britain, has offered a reward of 50,000
British pounds (US$81,325) to "the first person[s] to perform a citizen's
arrest" on Yudhoyono during his state visit to the UK.
The activists have said Yudhoyono
must be held accountable for "ordering ongoing genocide in West Papua
where over 500,000 innocent people have been killed including women and
children."
The campaign, posted on
arrestpresidentsby.wordpress.com, also claims that Yudhoyono was wanted by the
International Criminal Court for orchestrating the genocide. The information
was posted on Sept. 1 and is the only item on the blog.
The arrest plan itself appears
only to be conducted as a publicity stunt.
The website said that anybody
could claim the reward if they could "calmly and in a gentle fashion lay a
hand on Yudhoyono's shoulder or elbow, in such a way that he cannot have any
cause to complain of being hurt or trapped by you, and announce loudly, 'Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, this is a citizen's arrest for genocide and crimes against
humanity in West Papua. I am inviting you to accompany me to a police station
to answer the charge'."
The website added, "It is
likely that British police officers will be accompanying Yudhoyono, so you
should explain the charge to them, and encourage them to support you by
arresting him. You are advised not to put yourself at risk of charges of
assault or false imprisonment."
The attempt has also to be
"reported in at least one mainstream media outlet".
According to the website, the
action would be "largely symbolic but will have great political
resonance".
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment