Ministers of NAM countries to meet Arafat on Sunday
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.