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| Prime Minister Sogavare (left) and Prime Minister O’Neill (right) – Suplied |
Jakarta, – The Indonesian government has refuted the
statement of Solomon Islands prime minister that the country has joined
the Melanesian Spearhead Group merely to protect its own interests.
“We firmly reject the statement of the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, that appeared on the website of the prime ministers press secretariat on May 17, 2016,” the Indonesian foreign affairs ministrys director general for Asia Pacific and Africa, Desra Percaya, stated in a press statement received here on Saturday.
The prime minister of Solomon Islands, in the statement on the
aforesaid website, had posited, “The extension of full membership status
to the United Liberation for West Papua (ULMWP) in the Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG) could be justified because Indonesia has also
sought to seek a membership status in the regional grouping to protect
its own interest rather than seeking to be involved in a dialogue about
serious human rights issues in West Papua.”
Responding to Prime Minister Sogavares statement, Desra Percaya made
it clear that the statement was against the basic principles of
sovereignty and non-interference as included in the agreement for the
establishment of MSG in 2007.
Desra underlined that the worlds third biggest democracy, Indonesia considers respect for human rights an important principle.
In view of that, he recalled, Indonesia has ratified eight out of
nine of the main human rights instruments of the UN and cooperates in
various human rights mechanisms.
“Indonesia hails the concept of human rights and is ready to share its experience with regard to promoting and protecting human rights with other countries, including Solomon Islands. That is why Indonesia has always welcomed the participation of Solomon Islands in the Bali Democracy Forum,” he elaborated.
Desra reiterated that Indonesia has long been committed to overcoming
the issue of human rights violations through the establishment of the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) representative office
in Papua.
He reminded that Komnas HAM offices at the national and regional
level have continued to work to resolve any alleged cases of human
rights violations in Papua.
As part of the Pacific region, Indonesia has also partnered with
several key countries in the region to forge strong and productive
bilateral relations, he added.
It has also actively participated in various regional groupings, such
as the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) since 1980 and the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum since 1989. Also, it has
been active in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) since 2001 and the
Pacific Islands Development Forum (PDIF) since 2014.
“So, it is rather myopic for Prime Minister Sogavare to speculate that Indonesias agenda in the Pacific, moreover regarding MSG, is solely Papua-centric,” he argued.
He maintained that Indonesia remained committed to contributing to
the MSG, further solidifying the relations between the governments,
communities and peoples in the region.
Indonesia is also committed to strengthening cooperation, jointly
overcoming the challenges, deepening the economic relations and
development related cooperation for the welfare and future of the
nations in the MSG region.
“These facts must awaken Sogavare prime minister to understand clearly the reality and the truth,” he concluded. (pt/tabloidjubi.com)
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