Ministers of NAM countries to meet Arafat on Sunday
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia and other Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries are to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on June 2, as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.
The visit was initiated by Indonesia in the last NAM meeting in Durban, South Africa in April, in which Indonesia and other non-aligned countries strongly condemned Israel's recent aggression especially the killings at Jenin camp, foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said.
"The visit is an expression of our solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is also an opportunity observe first hand the situation there," Marty told The Jakarta Post.
Hassan Wirayuda will be accompanied by foreign ministers from Malaysia, Egypt, Senegal, Jordan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. They will be meeting Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah. On June 1 they are slated to meet King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman. The foreign ministers are also scheduled to visit Jenin camp and other sites.
During the ministerial meeting in Durban, the non-aligned countries also demanded that Israel pull out its forces from Palestinian cities. The countries support United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's decision to set up a multinational force to help restore peace in the area.
The Non Aligned Movement also support the sending of a UN fact-finding team to probe the attack in Jenin camp.
The countries agree that there should be another round of peace talks between Israel and Palestine with the United States as the mediator.
Indonesia handed over Rp 700 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian ambassador in Jakarta recently.
Israel's latest aggression in Palestine also sparked demonstrations in Jakarta and several provinces, in protest of what they saw as a double standard on the part of the United States in the Middle East conflict.
During Annan's recent visit to Jakarta, Hassan had also questioned the postponement of the sending of a fact-finding team to Jenin after Israel objected to the composition of the team.