SBY cancels trip to The Netherlands…much ado about nothing?

By: Willy van Rooijen ‘’A case of much ado about nothing.” This headline in the Jakarta Post reflects the opinion of most Indonesian critics on the canceled state visit of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The trip to The Netherlands was canceled as a lawsuit was filed by activists of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) living in The Netherlands. They wanted to have SBY arrested on his arrival on charges of human rights violations against Moluccan separatists. They had raised the RMS flag when SBY visited the regional capital of Ambon. Under detention during that time, they had been tortured. Indonesian human rights groups strongly reacted to SBY’s surprise decision. Choirul Anam of the Indonesian Human Rights Working Group said that SBY ‘’blew things out of proportion” in canceling his trip. Haris Azhar from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras): “The government thinks the RMS movement is a threat. But there is a huge gap between what they are afraid of and reality. There is no need for law enforcement against them.’’ Haris said that charging people hoisting the RMS flag with treason was a ‘’kneejerk reaction’’. Critics also said that the cancellation actually achieved the opposite of what SBY might have wa