Marty Natalegawa criticised over Indonesian ambassador's return

Indonesia’s foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, has come under fire for allowing the country’s ambassador to return to Australia without consulting MPs.

The ambassador, Najib Riphat Kesoema, was withdrawn in November during the diplomatic row over Guardian Australia's revelations that Australian spy agencies attempted to listen to the private phone calls of the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and other senior figures in Jakarta.

The ambassador returned to Canberra permanently last week, but Indonesia’s parliamentary commission that oversees foreign affairs was angry that Natalegawa had not consulted them over the return, the Jakarta Post reported.

The “discreet” move weakened Indonesia’s position in relation to Australia, the commission members argued.

Natalegawa had used political support from parliament to bolster Indonesia’s stance when the ambassador was recalled, they argued.

The commission’s deputy chairman, Tantowi Yahya, of the Golkar party, rebuked Natalegawa in a hearing on Tuesday, the Jakarta Post reported.

“The decision to recall the ambassador was based on an agreement between the government and the House,” Tantowi said. “But why did you discreetly send him back? You only involved us when [you] quarrelled [with Australia] but excluded us when making peace.

“Sending back the ambassador without any significant achievement in our efforts to normalise our ties with Australia reflects our weak position. I am offended by this decision,” Tantowi said.

Natalegawa apologised for unintentionally excluding the commission when making the decision, maintaining the move was to secure the country’s interests. Yudhoyono has demanded that the two countries sign a code of conduct regulating covert behaviour before full bilateral ties can be restored. Tony Abbott said on Tuesday he hoped the code could be signed shortly.

“We want to make sure that our ambassador’s presence in Canberra allows for a close monitoring of the work to improve the CoC [code of conduct] which will ensure that our national interests are secured,” Natalegawa said.

Natalegawa told the commission the Indonesian government would expect a response from Australia on the code during Abbott’s meeting with Yudhoyono on Wednesday.