The African Diaspora Congress (ADC) has condemned in strong terms, what it described as “the inhuman treatment of a Nigerian Diplomat by Indonesian Immigration Officers,” insisting that “it breaches all ethical, diplomatic, and international protocols.”
The ADC, in a statement by its Secretary General and Director of Media & Publicity, Apollos O Nwauwa and Jean-Marie Watonsi, respectively, therefore asked that “the Indonesian government, and all those officers who carried out this act of aggression and humiliation should, as a matter of urgency, tender an unreserved and unequivocal apology not only to the Diplomat but also to the government and peoples of Nigeria as well all peoples of African descent.”
In the statement, dated August 19, 2021, the ADC further warned that “in the interest of bilateral and multilateral harmony in our globalized world,” the Indonesian authorities should treat the matter with the seriousness that it deserves.
The ADC stressed that it viewed with dismay the “appalling video” of the incident publicized by the BBC showing the ill-treatment and manhandling of the Nigerian Diplomat by the Indonesian immigration operatives.
Insisting that the conduct of the Indonesian officials was unprofessional, disrespectful and abusive, the Congress noted that as far as it is concerned, any insult or violence against Africans anywhere in the world is viewed as assault on black peoples everywhere.
Pointing out that ADC is fully committed to the protection of human rights, rule of law and good governance both in Africa and around the world, the statement drew the attention of the “international community to this gross violation of the human rights and dignity of this diplomat,” and vowed that “Africans and its Diaspora community will no longer sit back, and watch our people being mistreated anywhere in the world as evident in this hideous video.”
It further noted that “this culture of lack of regard for blacks should be denounced by all decent people,” contending that “Africans, and indeed all blacks, deserve to be treated with dignity as accorded to other races of humankind” and therefore called for immediate and unreserved apology from the government of Indonesia and the affected officials to the assaulted Nigerian Diplomat, to Nigeria and Nigerians and, indeed, to all Africans.
