Gaspol Today: Israel Triggers War, Prabowo Should Rebuke Trump?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Professor Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of International Law at Universitas Indonesia, has urged President Prabowo Subianto to rebuke United States President Donald Trump over the attack on Iran. Hikmahanto said the move would be important as a reflection of Indonesia’s stance on the escalation of conflict in the Middle East region. Moreover, Prabowo has a strategically significant position to deliver the rebuke as a fellow founder member of the Board of Peace (BoP). ‘Mr President, you did not lobby Trump when there was a war in Iran, but in my view, the BoP says it wants to promote peace; where is the peace?’ Hikmahanto said in the Gaspol! Kompas.com Podcast, on Thursday (5 March 2026). ‘I am worried that the Indonesian public will say you are not firm or strong as you were before becoming President in relation to our defence of Palestine,’ he said. ‘What is certain is that this will erode the President’s approval rating because people will say you are just sitting back.’ ‘Free and active’ foreign policy means that if we see something wrong and its wrong is fundamental, then we say that this is wrong, he added. So what should Prabowo do in defusing the heated tensions in the Middle East by leveraging the BoP? Listen to the full analysis in the Gaspol Podcast airing tonight at 20:00 WIB on YouTube Kompas.com.