Indonesia's support for Palestine has not changed since the time of Bung Karno to Joko Widodo. In 1962, President Bung Karno expressed his stance in supporting Palestine: "As long as the independence of the Palestinian nation has not been handed over to the Palestinian people, then as long as the Indonesian nation stands to challenge Israeli colonialism."
In 2021, President Joko Widodo criticized and strongly condemned Israel: "The forced eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, and the use of violence against Palestinian civilians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque must not be ignored. Indonesia condemns these actions and urges the UN Security Council to take action on repeated violations committed by Israel. Indonesia will continue to side with the Palestinian people."
This pro-Palestinian position is very clear and clear in accordance with paragraph 1 of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution: "That in fact Independence is the right of all nations and therefore, colonialism in the world must be abolished, because it is not in accordance with humanity and justice."
The first paragraph explains Indonesia's position on independence and colonialism: (1) Independence is the right of all nations, (2) Colonization in the world must be abolished and (3) Why must it be abolished? Because: it is not in accordance with two characteristics, namely: humanity and justice.
The sentence "Independence is the right of all nations" contains two important parts: "independence" and "the right of all nations." Independence comes from the word "merdeka", Sanskrit maharddhika, which means "rich, prosperous, and strong" which in Malay and Indonesian is interpreted as "free or independent." The addition of the words "is the right of all nations" strengthens the idea that being a nation that is rich, prosperous, strong, free, independent of other nations, is a right, something that must be obtained by every person who has existed since birth, even before they were born. The nation as a "collection of humans with the same identity" is obliged to obtain its rights as humans and an independent nation.
The Palestinian people have the right to be an independent nation from various forms of colonialism, oppression, and apartheid and persecution by Israel. Indonesia has fully supported Palestinian independence from the past until now, and this position has not changed in accordance with the mandate of the constitution. The Indonesian Constitution is the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the substance of which is contained in the preamble and articles therein.
The next sentence, "and therefore, colonialism in the world must be abolished" contains Indonesia's very clear position that colonialism in any form and anywhere in the world must be abolished. Colonization includes: the process, method, and act of colonizing. Its location is in the world, which is interpreted as "the earth with everything on it", "the planet where we live", or more broadly: "the nature of life." In all nature where humans live, colonialism must be abolished.
That is why until now Indonesia has refused to open diplomatic relations with Israel, since it was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, because it was considered a colonizer who seized the land of the Palestinian people.
One year after the proclamation, Israel proposed opening a consulate in Indonesia, but was ignored by Indonesia. In January 1950, the Israeli Foreign Minister (1948-1956), Moshe Sharett sent a telegram to Vice President Mohammad Hatta containing Israel's full recognition of Indonesia's sovereignty. Bung Hatta only responded with thanks without offering diplomatic relations.
What is the reason for rejecting colonization? The most fundamental reason for the elimination of colonization in the world is because colonization is "not in accordance with humanity and justice." The word "fairy" means "things, nature, conditions, behavior, which are worthy of humans, traits that are worthy of humans, or civility. Colonization is considered incompatible with human nature and the nature of justice. In this sentence, the idea is seen that the basic nature of humans is civilized with the traits of civilization and justice inherent in them. From that civilized nature, humans then create civilization, science, all of which must be passed down to human welfare.
The nature of justice is an important part of the human world. Justice requires fair actions and treatment for all humans so that everyone has the same rights and opportunities to grow and live in society. In terms of language, the nature of justice means the meaning is: "equal weight", "not biased", or "siding with the right."
Indonesia's support at the multilateral level can be seen from its consistency in always voicing issues surrounding Palestine at the UN Security Council forum. Together with Malaysia, Indonesia asked the UN Security Council to intervene and stop "the despicable act: Israel's attack on Gaza at a time when the conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants is raging.
Responding to Israel's military aggression against Palestine (2021), to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on May 15, 2021, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi proposed that: (1) the OIC ensure unity, among OIC member states and all stakeholders in Palestine, (2) the OIC must seek an immediate ceasefire, and (3) the OIC remain focused on helping the independence of the Palestinian people.
At the bilateral level, Indonesia also provides various technical cooperation support and humanitarian assistance to thousands of Palestinians in various skills such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and so on. In 2019, in the UN Security Council (SC) Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East (28/10/2019) led by South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, Indonesia emphasized its support for Palestinian independence.
Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the UN emphasized: "Israel must immediately stop illegal construction and provocation by security forces in holy places in the occupied Palestinian territories. These actions have violated international law and UN resolutions, such as resolution 2334 (2016) and hinder efforts to achieve world peace." (Kemlu.go.id, 10/28/2019)
Quoting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Indonesia believes that Palestinian independence is very important to maintain international peace and security. Therefore, the international community must reverse the negative trend that hinders the achievement of the two-state vision which is the best solution to resolve the conflict. "The failure of the international community to resolve this problem will have a major impact, not only in achieving a peaceful resolution between Israel and Palestine, but also peace and stability throughout the Middle East region." Ambassador Djani emphasized.
Several forms of "hands on" diplomacy are very relevant to Indonesia's position which is anti-colonialism as well as solidarity with weak nations. In health, for example, Indonesia (through the MER-C initiative) also built the Indonesian Hospital in Bayt Lahiya, North Gaza, with donations from the Indonesian people from Sabang to Merauke. Meanwhile, Indonesia (through the MUI) will also build the Indonesian Hospital in "Al-Khalil" Hebron on 4,000 m2 of waqf land. Based on the first paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution above, we understand why since Indonesia was founded until now, this nation has continued to support Palestine. Constitutionally, our support for Palestine, or for other colonized nations, is due to the factor of human dignity, that all humans must sit equally low and stand equally high.
YANUARDI SYUKUR is an Indonesian writer who is also a lecturer, editor, researcher and speaker at various conferences and expert resource person on several Indonesian television stations and ministries. He has participated in various international programs in Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, the United States, as well as Ukraine. He is an anthropologist at Khairun University who is interested in various global issues. He is currently also active as Vice Chairman of the Islamic and Middle East Research Center (IMERC) of the University of Indonesia and is active in the Commission on Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulama Council. E-mail: yanuardisyukur@gmail.com.
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