MPR urges government to consider withdrawing peacekeeping troops in Lebanon
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) has urged the government to consider withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Lebanon after three TNI soldiers were killed in an Israeli attack near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters.
MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani stated during a press conference at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, that the withdrawal should be considered, especially if there is no security guarantee for Indonesian troops.
“If there is no safety guarantee for our peacekeeping mission troops, who are peacekeepers, then the MPR requests that the government consider withdrawing all troops in Lebanon,” he said.
According to Muzani, the withdrawal is in line with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, which instructs the state to protect every citizen.
“In accordance with the constitution, which mandates protecting the entire nation and Indonesian blood, Indonesia should withdraw its troops from that peacekeeping mission because this is a dangerous area for TNI safety, as happened in southern Lebanon,” he stated.
The MPR strongly condemned the attack and described Israel’s repeated assaults as “extremely barbaric” for taking the lives of soldiers carrying out a peacekeeping mission.
Therefore, the MPR urges the UN Security Council to hold an investigative session and impose sanctions on Israel.
According to Muzani, the fallen soldiers are the best sons of the Indonesian nation who dedicated themselves to the UN Security Council mandate. Therefore, the MPR proposes to the government that they be awarded honours.
Sergeant (Praka) Farizal Rhomadhon, a member of the Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeeping contingent, was killed by artillery fire near the Indonesian UNIFIL contingent position close to Adchit Al Qusayr in southern Lebanon on Sunday (29/3).
Meanwhile, three other personnel, namely Sergeant (Praka) Rico Pramudia, Sergeant (Praka) Bayu Prakoso, and Sergeant (Praka) Arif Kurniawan, were injured in the attack.
A day later, the UN reported that two Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeepers were killed and two others injured in an attack on a UNIFIL logistics convoy near Bani Hayyan in southern Lebanon on Monday (30/3).
Head of the TNI Headquarters Information Centre, Major General Aulia Dwi Nasrullah, explained that the two soldiers killed were Captain (Inf) Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and Sergeant First Class (Sertu) Muhammad Nur Ichwan.
The two injured soldiers were First Lieutenant (Inf) Sulthan Wirdean Maulana and Sergeant (Praka) Deni Rianto.