Antara News, Thursday, October 7, 2010 18:28 WIB
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Thursday that good relations between countries also implied the upholding of mutual respect and appreciation by the two sides.
Speaking before opening a limited cabinet meeting on political, security and legal affairs, the President said mutual respect in bilateral relations also included mutual respect between the leaders of the countries concerned.
He made the statement in connection with his decision to cancel his scheduled visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday.
"Relations between nations are not only about mutual interest or signing memorandums of understanding but also about mutual respect between the nations and their leaders involved," he said.
Although Indonesia always wanted to build good relations with other countries, including the Netherlands, it could not but show firmness in the face of an impending incident that had the potential of causing political complications.
"So, I decided to postpone (the visit) while observing further developments," he said.
The President also questioned the fact that the court in The Hague had handled the lawsuit on human rights violation and the related demand for the arrest of the Indonesian president with unusual expediency and at the same time as his expected arrival in the country.
"The lawsuit was filed on October 4 and the court decided to open the session on the case on October 5. I think that was the fastest court procedure in the world, the law suit was filed yesterday and processed the day after," he said.
After receiving information from Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands JE Habibie and inputs from Vice President Boediono and several ministers concerned (regarding the case), President Yudhoyono on
October 5,2010 decided to postpone his planned state visit to the Netherlands.
He said he could understand the Dutch government`s statement that it could not interfere in court proceedings. However, there remained the question why it was necessary for the court to hear the case during or in conjunction with his planned visit in the Netherlands.
"This was clearly a wrong signal. The staging of the court session was against ethics and norms in relations between nations," he said.
President Yudhoyono then recalled the visit of Queen Beatrix in Indonesia in 2005 when she was given a warm and unfettered welcome as was Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende when he came to Indonesia in 2006.
"It was very difficult for me to understand that I should be greeted with a court session upon my arrival there," he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Thursday that the Dutch trial, which was held when he was due to be flying to the Netherlands, was subject to the "fastest court hearing delay in the world." (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)
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