FM to reply to US Congress letter soon

Subject: FM to reply to US Congress letter soon

also State secretariat has not yet received U.S. congress letter: minister ; Hidayat calls on goverment to reject US Congress` request; Thousands hold rally outside U.S. consulate office in E Java

8/10/08 01:34

FM to reply to US Congress letter soon

Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - Foreign Minister Hasan Wirajuda said on Saturday he will soon reply to the US Congress` letter demanding the "immediate and unconditional" release of two sympathizers of the outlawed separatist OPM (Free Papua Organization).

"We will reply to the letter as soon as possible. In essence, we wiil ask the US government to respect the legal decision in our country," he said after inaugurating two elementary school buildings here.

He said 40 US Congressmen who signed the letter expressed concern about the detention of two OPM sympathizers identified as Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage and called on the Indonesian government to release them.

In the reply, the minister said he would explain the principles of human rights the Indonesian government had applied so far.

"Exercising the freedom of human rights does not mean shunning responsibility. The two separatists` wrongdoings have caused unrest and can be categorized as rebellion against what has jointly been agreed upon as the Unitary Republic of Indonesia," he said.

The wrongdoings had the potential to endanger the state stability, he said adding any similar act would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the "Bintang Kejora" (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004.

Affifudin Thaib, member of the defense, information and foreign affairs commission of the House of Representatives (DPR), who also attended the inaugural ceremony said the government did not need to respond to the letter.

He said the Indonesian government should ignore the letter in what he described as a form of the US Congress` intervention in the country`s internal affairs.

"There is no need to respond to it. We are a sovereign nation and legal affairs in our country are our business," he said.

The detention of the two OPM symphatizers did not violate human rights, he said.(*)

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08/10/08 11:58

State secretariat has not yet received U.S. congress letter: minister Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said that until Sunday morning he had not yet received the US Congress letter which asked for immediate and unconditional release of two detained sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Movement (OPM), Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

"Up to know, we still have not yet received the letter," the minister said after accompanying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the announcement of a national energy and water efficiency movement here on Sunday.

He said however that the treatment of such a letter should be based on the standing diplomatic procedures with the Foreign Ministry as a reference institution.

"Well, let us wait for it and see if truly there is such a letter," he said.

The minister`s statement came up after 40 US Congressmen reportedly had written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono demanding the "immediate and unconditional" release of two sympathizers of the outlawed separatist OPM (Free Papua Organization), Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the "Bintang Kejora" (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004.

Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Sudjadnan Parnohadingrat confirmed the US congressmen had sent a letter to President Yudhoyono.

"It`s true. The letter was dated July 29, 2008, and sent through us. We passed it on to Jakarta," Ambassador Sudjadnan told ANTARA last Wednesday.

He said the sending of the congressional letter to the president was not a trivial matter because it was signed by 40 US Congressmen.

Commander of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Gen. Djoko Santoso said the US Congress letter was a form of intervention into Indonesia`s internal affairs.

He said that the detention of the two separatist OPM sympathizers was fully the internal affairs of the Indonesian government. (*)

08/10/08 13:47

Hidayat calls on goverment to reject US Congress` request Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Chairman of the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nurwahid called on the government on Sunday to firmly reject the U.S. Congress`s request for immediate and unconditional release of two sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Movement (OPM).

"The president must firmly reject the request," Nurwahid said after attending the closing ceremony of a students national leadership training at the University of Indonesia`s hall.

The MPR chairman said he regretted the intervention of the US congress into the internal affairs of the Indonesian government.

"This is a form of intervention into the nation`s sovereignty," he said.

He said that the president should not hesitate to reject the US congress request. "We have our own legal mechanism in handling separatist problems," he said adding that it was improper for the US congress to meddle into Indonesia`s internal affairs.

In the meantime, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said that until Sunday morning he had not yet received the US Congress letter which asked for immediate and unconditional release of two detained sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Movement (OPM), Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the "Bintang Kejora" (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004. (*)

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08/10/08 16:18

Thousands hold rally outside U.S. consulate office in E Java Surabaya, E Java, (ANTARA News) - Thousands of activists of the Indonesian Islamic Organization Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) staged a rally outside the office of the US Consulate General here on Sunday in protest against US Congress`s letter asking for the release of two detained sympathizers of the outlawed Free Papua Organzation (OPM).

The HTI activists began their rally at 9 am carrying posters and banners with messages criticizing the US government which they said had gone too far in intervening into Indonesia`s domestic affairs.

Rally coordinator Fikri A Zudian said the US intervention was seen in a letter signed by 40 US congressmen who asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to release two members of the separatist OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

"The US said that freedom of thought should be respected while in fact the two OPM members had committed a rebellious act and hoisted the morning star flag," he said.

He said that the US Congress letter was proof of the US intervention into Indonesia`s domestic affairs and of its support for the outlawed OPM.

Therefore, he said, HTI called on President Yudhoyono and the rank and file of his government to reject the US Congress request.

Tens of members of the HTI also staged a rally outside the US embassy on Saturday asking Washington not to meddle in Indonesia`s domestic affairs.

The demonstrators unfurled banners reading "HTI Rejects US Intervention in Papua" and "Prevent the Nation`s Disintegration".

The HTI held the rally after 40 US Congressmen reportedly had written to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono demanding the "immediate and unconditional" release of two sympathizers of the OPM, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.

Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment respectively in May 2005 for hoisting the "Bintang Kejora" (Morning Star) flag of OPM in Abepura, Papua, on December 1, 2004.(*)

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