Germany Affirms Jokowi Does Not Support FPI, Supports Radicalism Resistance

German Flag (Photo by Christian Wiediger of Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The German Embassy in Indonesia has officially apologized to the Indonesian government regarding the arrival of one of their staff at the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Jakarta. Germany denies the arrival came from an official order by the German Government.

FPI General Secretary Munarman and FPI Deputy General Secretary Aziz Yanuar previously said that their headquarters on Thursday, December 17th saw the arrival of staff from the German Embassy (Embassy) in Indonesia. The German embassy had confirmed the matter of arrival at that time when it was one of their staff.

"The Head of the German Embassy Representative Office confirmed the presence of Embassy staff at the secretariat of the organization," wrote the official statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday, December 20.

FPI then spread the narrative that the arrival of the German Embassy staff indicated that the world was highlighting the shooting case of 6 FPI Special Troops at the Cikampek Toll Road. Even the FPI also said that Germany paid serious attention to the detention of the Jakarta Metro Police of their leader, Rizieq Shihab.

German Embassy Clarification

The Indonesian government moved quickly to clarify the narrative that was spread by FPI. Because this is a matter of foreign relations, last Sunday, December 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Head of the German Embassy in Jakarta to ask for clarification and to convey a protest over the activities of the German Embassy staff in Jakarta coming to FPI.

"The Head of the German Embassy Representative Office said that the presence of German Embassy staff in the place and the meeting held was on personal initiative without getting orders or the knowledge of the German Embassy leadership," wrote the Foreign Ministry.

"For this incident, the Head of Representative of the German Embassy expressed his apologies and regrets for the incident,"

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

During the clarification session, the German Embassy denied various statements made by Munarman and Azis regarding their support. The German Embassy emphasized that the incident did not reflect the policies of the Government and the German Embassy. They also strongly rejected the impression that the arrival of embassy staff was a form of German support for the FPI.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs demands that the German Embassy provide an official statement to the public as explained to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said the Foreign Ministry.

"The German embassy said that the diplomatic staff had been asked to return immediately to account for his actions and provide clarification to his government," he concluded.