Yudhoyono was supposed to leave for the Netherlands for a state visit Tuesday, but canceled at the last minute when part of his entourage had already boarded, following news that a Dutch district court was to hold a trial on the same day in response to a lawsuit filed by some activists of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS), an Indonesian rebel movement.

The President said the trial breached the “ethic and conduct of nation-to-nation relationships”.

The plaintiffs demand, among others, that the Dutch government lift the Indonesian President’s diplomatic immunity during his visit to the Netherlands and have him arrested on charges of human rights violation; both of which have been rejected by the court.

“It is odd that the lawsuit was filed on Oct. 4, and yet the court held the trial on Oct. 5 –only a day after.

I guess it is the fastest-responding court in the world,” Yudhoyono said as he opened a Cabinet meeting on political and security affairs at the Presidential Office in Jakarta.

“And the signal sent by the trial is so wrong; it breaches the ethic and conduct of nation-to-nation relationships,” he confirmed.

The President said he was aware the Dutch government could not possibly intervene in affairs of Dutch courts, but highlighted the fact that the visit he had been just about to undertake was at the invitation of the Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

“The court is part of the state of the Netherlands, part of its national system; should it hold the trial to welcome me?

“We remember when Queen Beatrix visited Indonesia in 1995 and Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende in 2006, we welcomed and treated them warmly. It is hard for me to accept that I would be welcomed instead with the trial.”

Yudhoyono dismissed accusations that he canceled the visit out of fear of rallies and threats, saying he believed the Dutch government and his own Presidential Security Force could protect him. His decision to cancel the visit has been welcomed with both praise and criticism.

The critics said the President’s decision could be viewed as his confirmation of the government’s alleged violation of human rights toward imprisoned political activists in Maluku. Others said the President was trying to distract the public from the allegation.

Yudhoyono’s state visit would have been the first in 40 years by a president of Indonesia, which gained Independence in 1945 after 350 years of colonialism under the Dutch.

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