Thank to the surrender of US - Indonesia's worst diplomacy performance

Awicaks

Rahmat Witoelar, the Indonesia's Minister of the Environment, is nobody in global community. Unlike his wife, Erna Witoelar, the current Envoy of the Millenium Development Goal (MDG), who gains global recogntion due to her wide array of activism and professional carerrs, Mr Witoelar has lack of diplomacy experience.

In his presidency of COP13 of UNFCCC he's backed by many big names. He assigned a special assistance team comprised variety of persons, including those who are now actively working on carbon trading, biofuels development, and deforestation-related initiative, and have created concerns among global activists regarding conflict of interests.

The saturday morning incidence showed low quality of Mr Witoelar statemanship when he unplugged translation earphone and responded indifferently to protest raised by a China delegate member. His protest addressed to the Secretariat (charied by Yvo de Boer), who ignored the ongoing process of G77 meeting chaired by Hassan Wirajuda, the Indonesia Foreign Minister. Since Mr Witoelar didn't wear the translation earphone, he didn't understand what China delegate member protesting about as it were expressed in Chinese, and indifferently proceeded with the final session. The floor protested and created a chaotic situation ever happened in this kind of global summit.

Did that happen accidentally? The China delegate members and other parties' delegate members didn't believe the incident was not in purpose. Chine delegate even asked the Secretariat to publicly apologize for that humiliating treatment by the COP President.

That embarassing incidence, however, has been covered up by the surrender of the US delegate to pressure of European Union (EU) delegates and other G77 members. Press and media community would rather to ask comment on the surrender of the US delegate instead of questioning lack of leadership of Indonesia in governing COP13/CMP3 in Bali. Thank to the US delegate that has saved Indonesia ass.

However, some analysed that Indonesia has played an integral role in supporting the US negotiations parallel to the main program. Therefore, all the inconvinient incidences were not unrelated to tactics employed by the US delegate. Cancellation of press conference of the US delegate on Friday, 14 December 2007 at 3pm, has created massive chaos and confusion at the Media Center. So did the US lobby to the G77 members that divised the developing countries voices. All those happened under the nose of Yvo de Boer. What has vividly been seen is, those chaotic situations have distracted the parties from the substance and been provoked to remove the binding targets. The US fears that the targets will affect the US aggressive economics growth.

The analysts also said that whether there is carbon reduction is no longer important for both the US and Indonesia government. And since Mr Witoelar could not carry out the negotiations alone, because he is nobody in the global community, the US backed him up to get the Bali Roadmap on the way.

17 December 2007

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