Megawati Sends Condolence Letter Over Khamenei's Death, Condemns US-Israel
The fifth President of the Republic of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri, has issued a condolence letter on the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reportedly following a joint United States-Israel attack on 28 February. Megawati’s letter was dispatched by a number of central party officials, led by PDIP Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto, and was received in person by Iran’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Mohammad Boroujerdi, at the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday, 3 March.
In her letter, Megawati said she was both shocked and deeply saddened by Khamenei’s death. “On behalf of myself and the wider Bung Karno family, and representing the Indonesian nation and people who cherish peace, justice and the sovereignty of a free nation, I extend our sincere sympathy and solidarity to the family, the government, and the Iranian people,” she wrote.
Megawati noted that during three decades of leadership of Iran, Khamenei had a deep spiritual closeness to Bung Karno’s struggle. Several accounts indicate that from a young age he admired Bung Karno, reading his ideas, and using Pancasila and the Bandung Ten Principles as references in formulating a synthesis of religion, nationality and social justice in Iran.
Megawati says Indonesia and Iran share historic ties and a mutual fate as peoples who resist various forms of colonialism. “Under his leadership we heard echoes of anti-colonialism, Third World solidarity, and a determination to reject all forms of domination and global injustice,” she said.
She recalled her 2004 visit to Tehran as President of Indonesia to attend the D-8 Conference and strengthen friendship and cooperation between the two countries. She wrote that she had the opportunity to meet Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during that visit.
“I felt a warm welcome and the charisma of leadership emanating from him,” Megawati said.
In her letter, Megawati also asserted that the Indonesian people stand with Iran in rejecting and condemning the US and Israel’s military aggression, seen as unilateral and a violation of sovereignty. “We believe in the principle we have upheld since Bung Karno’s era to today—that conflicts should be resolved through dialogue, fair negotiation, and respect for international law, not through violence or the use of armed force,” she added.