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Library Dedicated to Indonesian Diplomat
Putri Prameshwari | October 20, 2009

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A library paying tribute to one of the country’s most prominent diplomats was opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Pejambon, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

Yusra Khan, secretary of the ministry’s policy research and development body, said the Ali Alatas Library was named after the late Suharto-era minister because he had contributed much to the nation’s international relations over his lifetime.

“He was one of our best diplomats,” Yusra said. “To us, he was one phenomenal man.”

Current Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda also paid a visit during the opening ceremony, along with Nadira, one of Alatas’s daughters.

The new library replaces the ministry’s outdated research center, which was built in 2002. Yusra said the ministry wanted to add more of a modern touch to draw new visitors.

“We hope the library will attract more people,” he said, adding that it would be open to the public, especially those looking for academic reference materials.

The new library, he said, contained about 19,000 books donated by past and present diplomats and staff of the ministry.

An e-library project is also currently under development to supplement the new facility.The online effort will give members digital access to a wider range of books and journals at the ministry.

“It will integrate libraries across all departments of the ministry,” Yusra said.

One of the library’s reading rooms has also been decorated to look like Alatas’s former office at the ministry.

The chamber houses the diplomat’s bookshelf, numerous medals and awards, desk, chairs and even a book by George Shultz, Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state, that Alatas was reading when he died in December last year.