Ambassador Awad: I am grateful to Indonesian people

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 03/26/2006 8:52 AM | Life

Veeramalla Anjaiah and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Palestinian Ambassador Ribhi Yusuf Awad will return to his homeland soon, bringing with him his 14 years of diplomatic experience in the country with the world's largest Muslim population.

Looking back, Awad, who has two children from his marriage to an Indonesian woman, says that he has every reason to thank the Indonesian government and its people.

""I am grateful to Indonesian people and former president Soeharto,"" Awad told The Jakarta Post at his residence recently.

Awad, a member of former president Yasser Arafat's Fatah party, which lost to Hamas in February's election, said he would return to his home Jerusalem to take care of his aging mother.

""The house of my father is in Jerusalem and my mother lives there. I have to take care of her,"" he said in his newly renovated office and residence on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.

His return to Jerusalem, which has become a regular site of seemingly endless cycles of bloody violence since the Arab-Israel War in 1948, does not mean, however, that his diplomacy activity is coming to an end.

""I have a very rich (diplomatic) experience to share. No less important is I still have energy,"" said the 65-year old diplomat, suggesting that he wished to share his knowledge and experiences with fellow Palestinians back home.

Awad, the third in a family of nine children, grew up in a family living a life of subsistence. His father got injured in a battle against Israeli troops when Awad was eight. This prompted his mother to place the burden of earning a living for the family on her children. Awad helped shoppers carry their bags for a small fee. His elder brothers Muhammad and Musa sold beverages and newspapers.

Despite the difficulties, Awad managed to earn a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Cairo in Egypt.

He also joined Fatah, an organization that later brought him to meet Yasser Arafat, who later became Palestine's president.

In August 1992, he was assigned to an ambassadorial post in Jakarta. His long tenure here has made him get a prestigious position as the dean of diplomatic corps, which coordinates at least 90 embassies.

Amidst his tight schedule and preparations for his departure, Awad welcomed the Post for an interview.

Question: How did you come here?

Answer: Well, I was working in Tunisia after we were expelled from Beirut in June 1982. I was in the headquarters of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) in the political department with Mr. Farouq Qaddoumi, who was named the minister of foreign affairs. I worked as assistant minister and spokesman for the political department.

After five years, some reports came to (former) president Arafat, alleging that I was a hard-liner. Arafat decided to deport me within 36 hours from Tunisia to Nairobi, Kenya, as Palestine's ambassador, but without any credentials. It was only 1989 that they sent the credentials by fax.

Everybody knew that Nairobi's policy was mortgaged by Israel. Israeli agents were everywhere, including in the security and foreign affairs. Then Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi was hostile to Arab positions in general. Moi was hostile to Palestine due to pressure from Israel. The Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) was also everywhere.

So, he (Moi) imposed a very, very hard restriction on me in order to limit and confine me in Nairobi. Anybody who came to see my office, including journalists, had to be screened by security officers. Moi did not give me any room to work.

I was spending my time in the UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). Given that condition, I was compelled to develop my hobbies -- fishing and going to safari to see lions and tigers. I called that period as the years of exile.

After three years, I was contacted by the director of the office who said that president Arafat wanted me to go to Indonesia. He told me that they needed my experience. He reminded the nickname that was given to me by Arafat: Bulldozer.

So, I went to Tunisia to take the credentials from Arafat and came to this great country. It was in 1992, two months before the Non-Aligned Movement conference.

Had Palestine opened an embassy in Jakarta then?

Yes, the Palestine Embassy in Jakarta was opened in 1988. It was the decision of then president Soeharto and (then foreign affairs minister) Ali Alatas. Mr. Alatas was present during the inauguration of this embassy. My predecessor did not stay here.

Some say that you had good relations with the late Arafat.

You know our relations were sometimes sour and sometimes good. But I would say that we were in good terms most of the time, especially when I was posted in the United Arab Emirates for five years, where I managed to collect hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars for the Palestinian cause and for this Arafat gave me a nickname ""Bulldozer"".

I managed to secure hundreds of scholarships and facilities for Palestinians who at that time numbered 60,000. I can brag that I was finding jobs for most of them. I was taking care of them. I had been in a powerful position at the Palestinian Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

By God's blessing, people loved me and Arafat was very close to me. I was in Abu Dhabi for five years after I was declared a persona non grata by then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in November 1977.

I encountered a lot of problems with the government in Egypt. We, about 26,000 Palestinian students, occupied the Arab League. We clashed with the security. They put me in deportation room in a Cairo airport and early morning they took me by plane to Beirut, Lebanon. I arrived there around 7:30 a.m.

I heard that you shared a room with Arafat. When was that?

That was in 1967. I was head of the Fatah organization in Cairo. I was instructed by his deputy Abu Jihad to come to Damascus, Syria. Arafat was not there but in an occupied territory in Palestine.

He had a lot of problems with Israel. They chased him from one village to another. When he came back, I met him in an apartment, which I shared with one or two Palestinian students.

I had met Arafat in Kuwait around 1962, when he worked in the ministry of public works. It was before the launch of a military operation by Fatah.

In Damascus, I was responsible for the information center. We were taking care of the military communique. We also edited and published a weekly magazine called Palestinian Revolution.

I came to a training camp in Damascus. I was in touch with the camp to give lectures. During my stay in Damascus, I was assigned to Beirut. At that time, there was press freedom in Beirut. With the blessing of Allah, I maintained good relations with all chief editors of daily newspapers, weekly magazines and others. I was proud. I was also head of Fatah organization at that time.

What about Palestinian refugees?

After 1948, more than one million Palestinians were forced by Israeli terrors to leave their houses, villages, farms, cities. Most of them were sheltered in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt.

I, brothers Muhammad, Musa, Yasin, Azmi and sisters Halimah, Zainab, Jamilah and Muniroh lived in a refugee camp. We had no money. My father was at that time a resistance fighter. He was injured in a battle. That forced my mother to take over the management of the house and to ensure that we had enough food every day. We had neither capital nor assets.

So, my mother distributed the work between us. Azmi and Yasin were younger than me. We have Muhammad, Musa and me. She said to me, ""Look, you have a broad shoulder, so you should be a butler"".

So, she sent me to a market in Bethlehem to carry baskets. I was helping shoppers carry their bags, for which I was given money.

My elder brother Muhammad sold soft drink -- lemonade -- in bazaars and markets. One day, he said the coloring was off the market. But then he went to a shop and bought some paint to color the lemonade. Musa sold newspapers and pudding to the people. One day, he came home with no money. He said that he ate half of the pudding and another half was eaten by people who wanted to taste it before buying.

Can you describe how the situation was here when you came for the first time?

There was a general called (L.B.) Murdani. He was (allegedly) blocking the way (for Palestine) to open an embassy here. Then president Soeharto agreed to open an office here. Murdani had allegedly good relations with Israel. That was what we heard.

I was received by president Soeharto. I remember that he was very hospitable. This building was taken by the government from Pertamina. I was told to use this building, for office and house. It has good facilities and we don't pay any rent.

After the gulf war, there was an accusation that Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein. Arab oil-producing countries stopped giving money. Arafat decided to close 26 embassies of PLO in Africa and Asia, including Indonesia. I talked to Arafat who then said that he would congratulate me if I could sustain the embassy.

Then I approached (Soeharto's son) Bambang Trihatmodjo and handed over a message for his father. I told him to approach his father to see if he could help. On the second day, Bambang phoned me, saying that his father was ready to help. And they began to help us installing the electricity, water, telephone and fax. It was to maintain and to sustain the embassy. I am grateful to the Indonesian people and former president Soeharto.

We heard some businesspeople also offered help

We should highlight that we managed to maintain very friendly and brotherly ties. We praise the support of Indonesian people, who help through the government. When Arafat came here on Sept. 26, 1993 to brief Soeharto about the Oslo Accord signed on Sept. 15, 1993, Soeharto pledged to give US$10 million. I believe it was transferred to Arafat later.

How did you pay your embassy staff at that time?

We suffered for seven or eight months. After Arafat managed to resolve the economic crisis, he transferred the salary. I have one driver, two attache, one Indonesian secretary and one gate man. It's not a big embassy.

How would you characterize your 14 years stay here?

Well, if I did not enjoy my life here I could not stay this long. My longest stay before Indonesia was Cairo for seven years and Abu Dhabi five years. I left other countries averagely after one year because of conflict with policies of the host country.

Why do you think Arafat post you here for so long?

The idea of Arafat and other leaders was that when you get experiences, good contacts with the government, why not let him stay. So, some of my colleagues spent 23 years in Morocco, 22 years in Kuala Lumpur and I spent 15 years here. I was happy. Never did I complain.

You said you suffered for seven to eight months. How did you manage to survive?

Some friends, including Hasan Basri (MUI), businessman Probosutedjo and Tommy Soeharto -- helped me.

Were you a bachelor when you came?

No, I was not a bachelor at that time. My wife was in Cairo. She was a diplomat. She was an Egyptian. I have three sons. One from the Egyptian wife named Bassam, who is over 30 years old. (Bassam is studying in the United States). I have Siraj, 5, and Nadah, 3.5 years from Indonesian wife Fatimah. They are with their mother at school now.

How did you meet your wife?

This is something private. She was doing a research for her thesis. She came from Makassar, South Sulawesi. You know, it was a human relations. It happened that we got married.

She came here to do a research. I was like a bachelor because my first wife suffered a stroke. I sent her to Cairo for medical treatment. In her absence for five years, I should get married. It was in 2001.

So, you have one Egyptian wife and one Indonesian wife?

No, I got married to a Palestinian but we got divorced. Her mentality is different from mine.

What were your achievements in Indonesia?

You know the main task of a diplomat, particularly ambassadors, is maintaining friendly and direct relations with the ministry of foreign affairs, Indonesian leaders, parliament and mass media. We also brief people about Palestine.

It is also a representation. When I am present here as an ambassador of Palestine, it means Palestine does exist. This is diplomatic. It is also political because Israel had from the very beginning denied the Palestine's existence. Our presence is important and I think that is one important achievement of the Palestine people.

I remember Israeli PM Golda Meir, when she was asked about the Palestinians, she said: ""Who are these Palestinians, I don't know."" She denied our very existence.

As for personal achievement, I finished writing a book called Ensiklopedi Palestina in Indonesian language. It is about 1,200 pages. I would launch it before I leave. Hopefully, it would be helpful for Indonesian people.

The second book is in Arabic titled A Guide for Envoys. The motive is to brief Arab diplomats about Indonesia. The book was driven by my own experience. When I came here, I was told about Indonesian leaders Sukarno and Soeharto. Both leaders are Javanese, which I misunderstood as Japanese. To avoid this misunderstanding, I write this book. Alhamdulillah (God Willing), I finish it.

How did you boost ties between Indonesia and Palestine?

I can't tell you. It is not out of diplomacy. The continuous stance of Indonesian government to support the Palestinian struggle in the United Nations, at international fora, in Non-Aligned Movement and various conferences is invaluable.

This is great. This is Indonesia. This is the most populous Muslim country in the world. This is what we are proud of. We are happy to enjoy this support.

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