IPU may approve motion on Mideast

JAKARTA (JP): A plenary session of the 104th Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference here on Monday agreed in principle on the need to issue a compromise resolution on the current tension in the Middle East, but stopped short of any condemnation of Israel.

The motion, "Bringing an end to the tension and violence in the Middle East, protecting civilians and action to save the peace process", was officially submitted by the Indonesian delegation at the session.

"We are sure that none of you want to see anymore bloodshed in Palestine and the Middle East. We are submitting this motion on behalf of Indonesia, Algeria and Morocco," Indonesian legislator Joko Susilo said before reading out the motion to the plenary session.

Joko, of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the IPU should call on the disputing parties, Israel and Palestine, to refrain from any action which could result in increased violence.

He said the IPU should also call for the continuation of the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine to reach a solution in accordance with United Nations resolutions.

While the conference agreed on the need to issue such a resolution, the details still need to be formulated.

Joko admitted to journalists that the resolution was a compromise and that compared to the earlier proposal it neglected to condemn the Jewish state which is also a member of the IPU.

"It (a resolution condemning Israel) would be very difficult to pass. I'm sure that the Jewish lobby is very strong here," Joko said.

He said that delegates from Australia and Canada were among those who objected to a condemnation of Israel.

The exact details of the motion, according to Joko, would be formulated later by a drafting committee consisting of a representative each from Indonesia, Algeria, and Morocco as the parties proposing the resolution, along with one representative each from the Asia Pacific, North American, European, Middle Eastern and African countries.

The final draft of the motion, which was submitted as "an emergency item", must secure the support of four-fifths of the votes cast.

The number of votes which each delegation can cast differs. Each country has a basic allocation of 10 votes. However, the total number of votes which a country can cast is based on the population of that country.

China and India have the largest number of votes with 24 each. Indonesia has 22 votes.

The conference, which was opened by President Abdurrahman Wahid here on Sunday, is being attended by about 1,200 lawmakers from 120 countries.

Separately, the Iranian delegation on Monday strongly denied that it had not supported Indonesia's motion to condemn Israel.

Joko, who is deputy chief of the Indonesian delegation, on Sunday said that he was disappointed with Iran which he claimed had not supported the motion condemning Israel.

But the Iranian Embassy here on Monday said in a statement that Tehran remained a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause.

The statement said the Iranian delegation "strongly denies these baseless remarks" and that Iran has "always supported every move that will be conducive to the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people".

"The government and the people of Islamic Republic of Iran have always been the genuine flag holders of struggle against the Zionist regime and are strong supporters of the Palestinian people," said an embassy statement received by The Jakarta Post on Monday evening.

While lawmakers from around the world were busy deliberating inside the Jakarta Convention Center, outside dozens of members of the Youth Movement of National Mandate Defenders, a youth wing of PAN, staged a rally to condemn Israel.

The conference on Monday also agreed to a supplementary item on the agenda to discuss whether embargoes and economic sanctions were ethically acceptable, and if they were suited to the objective which it was desired to be achieved.

The motion was submitted by parliamentarians from Belgium.

Indonesia's House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who is chairing the conference, said the proposal was supported by two-thirds of the delegates, defeating three other motions submitted by Italy, South Africa and Algeria.

Indonesian legislator Ferry Tinggogoy said Indonesia supported the Belgian proposal, as Indonesia believed that embargoes and economic sanctions only caused more suffering among the people.

"Economic sanctions are no longer appropriate punishments," Ferry of the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police faction in the House, remarked.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of parliamentary secretaries-general in a separate auditorium, the House's Sri Sumarjati Harjanto was intensively queried over recent democratic reforms in Indonesia, including the existence of an Indonesian Military/Police faction in the House.

Sri, who is also the chairwoman of the conference's organizing committee, told the meeting of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) that their presence was in honor of their past services.

"However, we agreed that they would only be given seats in the House until 2004, while their seats in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will remain until 2009," she remarked.

On Tuesday, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is due to address the conference as guest of honor.(jun)