FM entertains foreign diplomats with wayang puppet show

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda entertained 60 foreign ambassadors with a traditional Javanese puppet show and dance performances after delivering his Annual Foreign Statement here on Thursday. 

Wirajuda said stories in the puppet show, known as Wayang, represented the constant battle between good and evil in contemporary life. He encouraged the audience to understand and identify the issues and apply them within the context of their profession as diplomats. 

"The conflicts and uncertainty surrounding us only cause misery and suffering in the life of innocent civilians. It seems today that the strong can destroy anything when they think it is necessary without feeling the consequences," Wirajuda said. 

"The Gaza Strip has put a dark cloud over our world as more than a thousand innocent civilians have been killed and more than five thousand wounded in three weeks of war. Yet, the rest of the world has only remained spectators," he said during an interval of the Wayang show. 

The performance was part of the Penjambon Coffee Morning, the fourth event organised by the Foreign Minister and attended by a number of foreign ambassadors. 

In the Annual Foreign Statement, Wirajuda said Indonesia would continue to play a role in the world order based on independence and always strive for the creation of a peaceful but just world order. 

He said that while many countries, including Indonesia, were facing the multi-dimensional crisis of climate change, energy shortages, food and financial crises, Indonesia would work hard to cope with the crisis.