Anies Baswedan Urges Government to Withdraw from the Board of Peace

Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has urged the government to withdraw from the Board of Peace after Iran was attacked by the United States and Israel. He conveyed this in a video posted to his Instagram account, @aniesbaswedan, on Thursday, 5 March 2026. He began by reminding that Indonesia was born from a rejection of colonialism.

‘In the opening of the 1945 Constitution, we promised to create a world order based on independence, enduring peace, and social justice,’ Anies said.

Anies also noted that Indonesia inherits a reputation as a leading voice of the developing world that dares to remind the great powers to submit to international law when spearheading the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.

He questioned Indonesia’s participation in the Board of Peace, which was formed and led for life by United States President Donald Trump. ‘Is this truly a path to a just peace, or are we helping legitimise the injustice we have long condemned?’ he asked.

According to Anies, the Board of Peace promises peace on paper. Yet its chairman, Donald Trump, ordered a military strike on Iran together with Israel. The attack was carried out without a UN mandate, without a real threat, and amid negotiations that cost lives even at the level of heads of state.

‘How can the Board of Peace continue to operate as if nothing happened when its initiator itself violates international law before the eyes of the world?’ Anies asked.

Anies argued that non-alignment active (bebas aktif) does not mean simply joining every table. He said non-aligned active policy is the obligation to choose forums aligned with our principles: defending sovereignty, upholding international law, and defending the victims of colonisation, not laying out a red carpet for the perpetrators.

‘So we could use this moment of the attack on Iran to withdraw from the Board of Peace and declare firmly, sorry, Indonesia cannot be present in a peace forum that turns a blind eye to international law violations by its founders,’ he said.

The former presidential candidate in the 2024 election emphasised that leaving the Board of Peace is not an anti-peace act, but a way for Indonesia to show that non-aligned active policy is not about approaching centers of power, but about loyalty to the nation’s conscience.

‘Are we ready to trade the Spirit of Bandung’s heritage for the symbol of participation in a peace council that cannot even bear its own name? We need to think seriously,’ Anies told Tempo on Thursday, 5 March 2026.

Anies’ call adds to the list of demands from various quarters for Indonesia to withdraw from the BoP membership after the United States together with its allies, Israel, carried out air strikes on Iran over the past weekend.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Civil Society Coalition, universities, Islamic organisation leaders, and students are urging President Prabowo Subianto to withdraw Indonesia’s membership from the BoP.

Muhammadiyah’s Central Board chairman Anwar Abbas said it would be better for the Indonesian government to withdraw from the Board of Peace than to be embarrassed by Donald Trump.

Anwar said Indonesia is a nation anti-colonial, but Trump supports Israel’s colonisation of Palestine. Moreover, Indonesia upholds humanitarian and justice values. He said those values are violated by Donald Trump as founder and chairman of BoP.

Anwar also said there is no longer any point for Indonesia to be in the Board of Peace if it cannot replace its chairman or become the chairman itself. ‘If we can’t, it’s better to withdraw. That would be far better and more honourable than being made to feel ashamed and humiliated by Trump,’ he told Tempo on Thursday, 5 March 2026.

Earlier, through a letter delivered to the Office of the State Secretariat, UI University’s Alliance of Students urged President Prabowo Subianto to withdraw Indonesia’s membership from BoP.

Alliance representative Fathimah Azzahra said the letter was a final warning for Prabowo to fulfil his promise. In early February, Prabowo said he would withdraw Indonesia from BoP if its objectives were not aligned with Palestinian independence.

‘We are giving the President and his administration a 3x24-hour ultimatum before the people’s fury descends,’ Fathimah said in a written statement on Thursday, 5 March 2026.

The MUI also urged the government to withdraw membership from BoP in a Tausiyah by MUI, in a letter numbered Kep-28/DP-MUI/III/2026.

The reason: the forum convened by US President Donald Trump is deemed ineffective in realising true freedom for Palestine. This assessment is reinforced by Trump’s stance of attacking Iran with Israel.

The MUI Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim said the attack was concrete evidence that US President Donald Trump is, in fact, a destroyer of peace. ‘Therefore, BoP is increasingly losing moral, political and even legal legitimacy because it has shown itself incapable of creating true peace and justice,’ Sudarnoto said in a written statement on Sunday, 1 March 2026.

Meanwhile, Rektor Fathul Wahid of Universitas Islam Indonesia said that as a higher education institution upholding Islamic values, Indonesianness and universal humanity, UII needs to carry out its moral and constitutional responsibilities for a civilised and humane state. ‘UII urges the government to withdraw from the Board of Peace (BoP),’ Fathul said in a written statement, Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

Indonesia’s involvement in BoP, he added, risks conflicting with constitutional mandates and reducing the principle of an independent foreign policy.

Forum Alumni Komisioner Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia (Komnas HAM)