Jakarta – Minister of Defence Matori Abdul Djalil has criticised a number of NGOs which only talk about human rights when considering the situation in parts of Indonesia in which conflicts are raging.

He said that the Unitary State of Indonesia is more important than human rights. Defence Minister Matori expressed this opinion during a discussion about the situations in Aceh and West Papua with the Malaysian ambassador, Hamidon bin Ali, on Tuesday, according to a press release issued by the Defence Ministry.

He is quoted as saying: "Of course, it's alright to think about human rights but the more important thing is to think about the territorial integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia , NKRI." He denied that this meant trivialising the importance of human rights. Human rights should always be given priority, he said, "provided that they do not undermine NKRI. Because conditions differ, the application of human rights in Indonesia cannot be the same as their application in western countries," he said. (djo)

[Comment: Defence Minister Matori is the second civilian politician to occupy the position as defence minister. He is clearly nothing more than a figurehead for the government department otherwise totally run by the military. Tapol]