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Oz envoy summoned over senator’s ‘appalling’ quip
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi summoned resident Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan on Monday in response to the uninformed comments of a right-wing Australian senator over last week’s mosque shootings in New Zealand
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span>Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi summoned resident Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan on Monday in response to the uninformed comments of a right-wing Australian senator over last week’s mosque shootings in New Zealand.
A white supremacist shooter, believed to be Brenton Tarrant from Australia, opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, live-streaming the attack on social media. He left a trail of 50 dead and several injured in his wake, including children.
In a closed-door meeting with Quinlan in Jakarta, Retno strongly condemned the statement from Queensland senator Fraser Anning, who said victims of the bloodshed in Christchurch were not “blameless” because of their faith.
“Ambassador Quinlan conveyed his reassurance that the statement made by senator Anning does not reflect the position and sentiments of the government and the people of Australia,” Retno stated on her official Twitter account, @Menlu_RI.
She also tweeted that Indonesia and Australia had agreed to strengthen cooperation on the promotion of tolerance.
Meanwhile, ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said Anning’s statement showed a lack of the senator’s understanding of Islam. “It is very wrong to link terrorism or violence with Islam or any other religion. This is a very shortsighted view. This kind of thinking, delivered by the senator, has no place in the modern world,” Arrmanatha said at a press briefing on Monday.
He said Indonesia would exercise its right to bar entry to Anning should he ever plan to visit.
Previously, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Charles Honoris called on Jakarta to ban the senator from entering the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
Charles, who serves on the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs commission, said Anning should be banned over fears he might divide Indonesia’s religious communities.
The agent provocateur has drawn wide condemnation for his efforts to blame the attack on immigration. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described his comments as “appalling” and “ugly”, and that it has “no place in Australia”.
Indonesian citizen Lilik Abdul Hamid was among those who perished in the mosque attacks, while two others identified as Zulfirman Syah and his 2-year-old son were injured.
According to the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington, Zulfirman had undergone multiple operations and was still receiving intensive care at Christchurch Hospital, while his son was in stable condition.
“The Wellington Embassy appreciates joint efforts of Indonesians in Christchurch in assisting Zulfirman’s wife during treatment at the hospital,” the embassy said in a statement on Monday morning.
