Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi summoned Saudi Envoy to Jakarta in protest against the indiscriminate bombing of Yemen that also damaged the Indonesian embassy.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi summoned on Tuesday Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Mustafa bin Ibrahim al-Mubarak, seeking an explanation for Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday that severely damaged buildings across the city, including the Indonesian embassy.
The minister, who met with the ambassador on the sidelines of the Asian-African Conference, said she wanted to know why the embassy had been bombed given that the government had given the location of its premises to the Saudi government to prevent such an occurrence.
The embassy building and diplomatic vehicles were heavily damaged, while two diplomatic staff and an Indonesian citizen were injured.
"There were two points to the meeting. I asked for an explanation of what happened yesterday," she said on Tuesday after the meeting. "Naturally we had hoped that the building would be avoided given its diplomatic status."
According to Retno, the Indonesian government advised the Saudi government on March 26 of the longitude and latitude of its premises in Sana’a — the embassy and the ambassadorial residence.
"Secondly, I asked for an explanation on what the Saudi government would do about the damage suffered by the embassy," she added, saying that around 80 percent of the building was damaged, not to mention the cars parked in the embassy.
"(The Saudi ambassador) promised to convey my questions to the Saudi government in Riyadh," she said, without revealing whether Indonesia had demanded any compensation from the Saudi government.
"The ambassador emphasized that the embassy was not a target; the embassy was collateral damage when the coalition attacked other targets," she explained.
The ministry has reported that 17 people were in the compound at the time of the attack: four members of the migrant worker evacuation team from Jakarta, one Indonesian member of staff, five local staff, five migrant workers and two students.
Retno added that 37 Indonesians were already on their way to the town of Al Hudaidah for evacuation.
The Indonesian government said in a recent statement that the bomb attack was further proof that resolving the conflict through violence brought nothing but destruction to innocent lives, adding that the best way to settle disputes was through diplomacy.
Meanwhile, a group of NGOs and human rights activists have led protests against the attack on Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition. They urged the government to register their disapproval of the air strikes and the damage to the Indonesian embassy.
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