SBY left speechless as Ahmadinejad takes charge at press conference

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/11/2006 12:09 PM  |  Business

Rendi Akhmad Witular and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may turn out to be the first foreign leader to have sidelined President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his own country after the Iranian leader launched into a tirade against the West at a press briefing here.

In the joint press conference with Yudhoyono on Thursday, Ahmadinejad spent nearly 30 minutes replying to a question from a local reporter about the current nuclear standoff between Iran and the United States.

The reply appeared to bother Yudhoyono, who seemed to be somewhat upstaged by his Iranian counterpart, currently the focus of world attention due to his boldness in opposing the United States, the world's only remaining super power.

""It was more like a speech than a reply. But that was OK because Ahmadinejad's remarks were very newsworthy. I think he likes this nuclear thing very much,"" said one local journalist after the conference. His view was shared by most other journalists.

The conference, which was supposed to be held to announce the outcome of the meeting between the two leaders, sounded more like a pitch by Ahmadinejad for international support for Iran's nuclear program, which he claims is solely for peaceful purposes.

Out of respect for Ahmadinejad, a former top commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, Yudhoyono and other top Indonesian officials had to stand by and let him finish.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal, however, was quick to read the lie of the land, and tried in vain to cut the number of questions from the planned four to just two as time was clearly running out.

He tried to end the conference after the second question, posed by an Iranian reporter, was replied to promptly by Yudhoyono, but to no avail as Ahmadinejad remained where he was, determined to allow a local journalist ask another question, even though Yudhoyono appeared set to leave the podium.

The situation later became somewhat confused, with Yudhoyono, Dino and a Farsi-language translator conferring with Ahmadinejad to inquire whether he wanted more time to continue with the press briefing.

The briefing then continued with Yudhoyono again forced to stand idly by on the podium. At one point, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda was seen whispering something to Yudhoyono that made him break out in a grin.

As the briefing wore on, Ahmadinejad seemed to be in no hurry to bring things to a close.

""I was trying to end the press briefing as it lasted way beyond the allocated time,"" said Dino later, without elaborating.

He denied suggestions that his attempt to end the briefing was based on concerns that the tirade by Ahmadinejad against the West could create an adverse perception of Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population.

Indonesia, known for its secular ethos, is currently trying hard to attract more investment from the West to help fuel economic growth and reduce unemployment.

The U.S., which has vast business interests in Indonesia, opposes commercial ties with Iran because of concerns that its nuclear program is a cover for the development of nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

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