Antara-June 27
Indonesia has offered a 3+1 formula to help in the struggle for a free Palestine country, during a Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) III in Bangkok on Wednesday.
“Indonesia is always at the forefront to help in the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 3+1 formula includes capacity building of the apparatus of Palestine Administration in various sectors; creating conducive conditions for the economic growth and development of Palestine; and providing synergy on capacity building provided by CEAPAD and other organizations through bilateral, regional, or global mechanisms.
In Bangkok, Marsudi also called for political commitment of the international society that has diplomatic relations with Israel to avoid moving their embassies to Jerusalem but instead acknowledge Palestine as a sovereign country.
There are some fundamental reasons on why international attention and assistance to Palestine are needed these days when the people of Palestine continue to face injustice and colonialism, Marsudi noted.
The first reason is that the commitment to help Palestine, including through UNRWA, has been declining; secondly, peace process has been halted; thirdly, violence committed by Israeli forces has been increasing; and lastly, the hope for the freedom of Palestine is uncertain, she revealed.
Marsudi revealed that it would take a long time to realize a sovereign Palestine country. “Indonesia`s commitment for a free Palestine country would not fade but, in fact, would increase,” Marsudi revealed.
Indonesia has also pledged that the Palestinian issue would become Indonesia`s focus during its term as a non-permanent member of UN Security Council in 2019-2020.
Indonesia`s membership to the UNSC will come to effect on Jan 1, 2019, after it was elected by a majority vote in June 8, 2018, in New York.
The CEAPAD III meeting in Bangkok was attended by foreign ministers and high-level officials from 11 countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Egypt, Palestine, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Jordan and five international organizations, namely Islamic Development Bank, World Bank, Arab League of Nations, Office of the Quartet on the Middle East, and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
