A serious complaint against the improper conduct of the Japanese Security Service

H.E. The Ambassador of Japan 

in Indonesia
Jalan M. H. Thamrin -- Jakarta

                                                                                   Jakarta, October 24, 2005

Your Excellency,

I, Joesoef Isak, the editor of Hasta Mitra -- Jakarta, herewith lodge through your excellency a serious complaint against the improper conduct of the Japanese Security Service cq Immigration Office at the Narita Airport in Tokyo upon the legal authority of the Indonesian Consulate General in New York which effected negatively my position as a citizen of Indonesia. 

      The said accident happened on October 10-11, 2005 at Narita airport consecutively as follow:

1. Between mid-September and mid-October 2005, I stayed in The States to honour the invitation as guest speaker by the Michigan/Ann Arbor and Cornell/Ithaca universities, and to present the "Suardi Tasrif Award -- 2005" issued by the Aliansi Jurnalis Independen of Indonesia to the winner, Mr. Gordon Bishop, in New York.

   The carrier of the whole flight itinerary (Jakarta--Singapore--Tokyo--San Francisco--Detroit--New York vice-versa) was done by Northwest Airline in cooperation with Singapore Airline.

2.  In America I lost my Indonesian passport no 184402, issued by the immigration office of Jakarta Selatan, which is valid from July 21, 2002 till July 21, 2007. As a substitute the Consulate General of Indonesia in New York issued a Òtravel document in lieu of a passport--no XD 112254 valid from 3 October 2005 till 3 October 2006.

     Though not resembling exactly the original passport, the said travel-document without doubt whatsoever is a formal and legal document for it was issued by an Indonesian State institution in accidental cases as what happened in my case.

3. The improper act conducted by the Security Service cq Immigration Office at Narita Airport Tokyo happened on my flight back home from San Francisco to Jakarta at the Narita Tokyo on the 10--11 October 2005. The unnecessary accident occurred on October 10 due to a flight trouble in San Francisco (NW 27) that cause an arrival delay in Narita of ± 21/2 hours. The scheduled arrival of Northwest in Tokyo on 17.45  was therefore delayed till ± 19.30, while the connecting-flight to Singapore had departed earlier at 18.45.

    Northwest show their good services by lodging one night the late-coming passengers into the Redison Hotel Tokyo in order to continue their journey the day after.

4. I did not enjoy the said facilities, because he Security Service cq Immigration Office at Narita Airport Tokyo prevented me on the ground of entering Japan illegally for they do not honoured my travel-document as legal. I was taken into custody, totally isolated in a 24 hours guarded room without any outside contact, included my request to contact our Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo.

    They only released me the next day October 11 and put me on the plane at 18.45 to Singapore (Northwest fl.no 05).

5.  I did explained to the Japanese Security Service cq Immigration Office at Narita Airport Tokyo, that I do not have the intention whatsoever to enter Japan, except for short time transits of less than two hours at Narita airport fully in accordance to the regular flight-schedule of Northwest Airline. My whole flight itinerary Indonesia-America proves those facts.

1956, Tokyo Haneda Airport - Indonesian Journalists delegation. In the middle mrs Supeni in 1963 became Indonesian Rooving Ambassador: second from right Mr. Adam Malik became Vice President in 1978.

        I did show the statement issued by the University of Michigan explaining my visit to America and the report by the Manhattan New York Police Department (NYPD) about my lost passport.

        It goes without saying that I had given to inspect my legal travel document to prove my legal identity as issued by the Indonesian Consulate General in New York .

6. Further on, I had given the necessary additional explanation to the Japanese Security Service cq Immigration Office at Narita Airport Tokyo, and I repeated now to your excellency about my previous four visits to Japan, i.e. :

1956 Tokyo -- The Indonesian Journalists delegation to Japan. Joesoef Isak was representing the daily "Merdeka". Two members of the delegation became later high governmental functionaries : mrs Supeni (1963, deputy secretary of state / Rooving Ambassador), Adam Malik (1978, Vice President of Indonesia)

    My first visit to Japan was in 1956 in a journalists delegation together with colleagues -- Suardi Tasrif, Adam Malik and madame Supeni -- as guests of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce.

   Then a second visit in 1960 invited by the Gaimusho; the third visit was in my capacity as secretary general of the Afro-Asian Journalist Association to attend the commemoration of the atom-bomb disaster in August 1945 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the last visit in 2000 as the editor of Hasta Mitra attending the presentation of the Fukuoka Award to our novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

        I believe that those facts were in the dossiers of the security service and immigration office of  Japan, which clearly can prove that I -- as a journalist/editor and Indonesian citizen -- have never been a criminal or an illegal intruder to enter Japan.

I hereby convey through your excellency my complaint and demand :

I.  Clarification of the improper conduct lay upon my legal and individual rights as an Indonesian cutizen by the security service cq immigration of Japan at the Narita airport, and nullifying the record that I had been penetrating illegally Japan on the said days of 10-11 October 2005,

II.  To admit the wrong act and improper attitude conducted by the security service cq immigration of Japan at the Narita airport in insulting by not honouring a legal state document issued by an Indonesian state institution as issued by the Indonesian Consulate General in New York.

      This protest and complaint as for their information is also forwarded to the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Board of The Aliansi Jurnalis Independen of Indonesia.

Sincerely,

Joesoef Isak