Indonesia's formal statement on the article "Asian-Pacific region on the work"

Today, 16th April, The UN Herald received an e-mail with a formal response of the representative of Indonesia to the article published the previous day - "Asian-Pacific region on the work". 

In the article, it was reported that a semi-formal meeting will take place between the representatives of China, South Korea, Indonesia and Australia. The article was based on the information given by the delegate of South Korea and his expectations on the upcoming meeting. More on the article you can find out on: http://unherald.blogspot.com/2013/04/asian-pacific-region-on-work.html

Below you can read the letter of the representative of Indonesia, where she pointed out her remarks and demands concerning the passing of information to the wider public and journalists. 

"The information age has, with its ICT revolution, brought along many changes and issues that were previously unknown to the international community. Among others, the freedom of media has finally been recognized as a crucial element of a modern, democratic society. Nevertheless, this freedom is still breached too often, as is the fundamental right to freedom of speech. Taking all that into consideration, it is however necessary to acknowledge the fact that matters, characterized by an international, multilateral involvement, are utterly delicate and do, as such, require the most tactful, delicate and cautious handling.

The Republic of Indonesia categorically denies that it is, was or had been in the know of any kind of detailed agenda of the so called »Asian-Pacific meeting. « Yes, the meeting itself has been agreed upon, yet, there has not been any discussion about the time, location or, most importantly, the agenda of the meeting.

Secondly, the Republic of Indonesia finds it utterly inappropriate that certain representatives are overly bold with their statements about the expected outcome of the aforementioned meeting. Furthermore, we believe it is not within the authority of individual representatives to pass judgments about and expectations of the outcome of any future negotiations on selective topics, especially not the ones that hold their focus on the actions and behaviors of other states.

Last but not least, the Republic of Indonesia would expect that all details, that are to be shared with the general public, are agreed upon by the representatives of the states involved beforehand. We, the representatives, are expected to be responsible enough to be able to handle information with enough caution so that it does not harm the current issues and relationships in the international community. Not everything can be at full disclosure to the general public. On the other hand, should such statements be an expression of a personal opinion or mere assumptions, it should undisputedly and clearly be stated so.  Should this not be the general modus operandi in the future, the Republic of Indonesia fears that it might seriously jeopardize the possibility of any potential agreements, solution and/or dialogue.

Tina Orešnik

Representative of the Republic of Indonesia"

Aleksandra Đurđević

***

Disclaimer: This information is fictive and serves for the purposes of the UN simulation only.