OPM`s flag raising in Melbourne`s Indonesian Sonsulate is crime: President Jokowi
cidiss.co, The raising of the Free Papua Movements (OPMs) flag by an individual at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Melbourne, Australia, was a purely criminal act, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) affirmed.
“The crime concerns Australias domestic affairs and has nothing to do with Indonesia,” President Jokowi stated here, Monday.
Claiming to have received the report from Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi, the head of state remarked that the Australian government had increased the deployment of several security personnel to secure the consulates area, which had been intruded on Jan 6 by a suspect, who was allegedly a sympathizer of the OPM.
The suspect had trespassed into the Indonesian Consulates neighboring apartment before scaling a 2.5-meter-high gate of the mission and had raised the separatist groups flag. The incident occurred when most of the consulates staff members were conducting the Friday prayer.
While making assurance that the incident was viewed as Australias criminal problem, the president has urged Minister Marsudi to call on the Australian government to promptly take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
Minister Marsudi stressed on Sunday that the Australian authority should arrest and sentence the trespasser.
“The Australian authority must conduct an investigation and immediately take legal action against the perpetrator who had trespassed into the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne,” she noted in a press statement.
Minister Marsudi emphasized that the trespassing and flag raising incident in Melbourne is a crime that cannot be tolerated.
To this end, Marsudi reminded that Australia, as a receiver country, has the responsibility and obligation to conduct a legal process against the criminal and provide security guarantee to all members of the Indonesian mission in accordance with the Vienna Convention 1961 and 1963 on Diplomatic and Consulate Relations.
In a separate interview, Indonesian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir noted that Minister Marsudi had spoken to her counterpart Julie Bishop on Saturday morning to urge the Australian authority to investigate and take legal action against the perpetrator immediately.
ANTARA
