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[INSIGHT] Germany-FPI incident: What happened to trust?
Trust is a key element in both diplomacy and politics, and standing up for truth against the "heat" from social media commenters and influencers as regards a country's foreign policy today is no different than it ever was: All it takes is conviction and the decency to do the right thing.
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![[INSIGHT] Germany-FPI incident: What happened to trust?](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2021/01/07/2021_01_07_109726_1610034913._large.jpg)
A stock image illustrates lettered blocks forming the word "trust". (Shutterstock/Andrii Yalanskyi)
T
he recent controversy over the visit of a German Embassy staffer to the headquarters of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) shows what happens when a diplomatic event has a brush with domestic politics.
Here is what we know. On Dec. 17, 2020, an employee of the German Embassy visited the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta. Her entry into the compound and the car she arrived in, which bore a diplomatic license plate, was photographed, most likely by an intelligence officer assigned to watch the goings-on at the compound.
Two days later, FPI secretary-general Munarman confirmed her visit to the media and the incident went viral. Reports began to surface that the woman in question was a member of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND). The Indonesian Foreign Ministry did not verify the speculation, only confirming that the woman was registered as a German diplomat.
When the news broke, the German Embassy speedily repatriated the woman from Indonesia, either as disciplinary measure or to shield her from potential uproar.
Whatever her intention, visiting the FPI headquarters was certainly poor judgment on her part. Whether a diplomat or an intelligence officer, she was, to say the least, naive and unprofessional in not considering the possibility that the FPI would capitalize on her visit to spark a political circus — which is exactly what happened.
After all, the FPI was then in the middle of a huge domestic firestorm: Its leader Rizieq Shihab was engaged in a confrontation with the government and had defied numerous police summonses for questioning over his connection to mass gatherings that violated the COVID-19 protocols.
The German Embassy has issued a statement of regret and apologized for the incident. This did not, however, stop the public outcry and strong responses, or colorful conspiracy theories.
