RI presses for resolution of IPU to condemn Israel
RI presses for resolution of IPU to condemn Israel
JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
promised on Friday to urge the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to
issue a resolution condemning Israel, whose overnight attack in
Palestinian areas left the peace process in tatters.
Demonstrations in some major cities marked on Friday the
widespread anti-Israeli sentiment in the country.
Speaking in the first media gathering leading up to the 104th
IPU conference here, Akbar said the condemnation resolution
against Israel should add to the three resolutions already
prepared by the IPU.
"We will submit our initiative on Israel at the opening of the
conference," Akbar remarked.
The six-day meeting, the first to be hosted by Indonesia, will
be opened by President Abdurrahman Wahid on Sunday.
Akbar said the Indonesian delegation would lobby foreign
counterparts from European and Asian countries, not just Middle
East countries, in order to get the resolution passed.
A resolution needs approval from four fifths of the votes
cast.
"So, it's not easy. We should work hard to persuade the other
delegations," Akbar, who is also chairman of Golkar Party,
explained.
Commenting on a suggestion that Israel be excluded as an IPU
member, Akbar said it could not happen because the IPU membership
was final.
"It's difficult to dismiss Israel from the IPU. Not all
members of the IPU have good relations. It's normal and it
happens," he said.
Also attending the media gathering was IPU president Najma
Heptulla, who is also Deputy Chairwoman of the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House) of India.
The IPU conference, which will see 1300 delegates from 120
countries, has prepared three resolutions, including one on human
rights abuses against members of the government of Myanmar.
Rally
Earlier in the day, Akbar, People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker Amien Rais and House Deputy Speaker A.M. Fatwa joined
some 5,000 supporters of the Justice Party who staged a rally at
the House compound to condemn the Israeli soldiers' attack on
Palestinians.
To express their anger, a group in the crowd burned the
Israeli flag and several tires and slaughtered a goat.
Akbar promised the protesters that the House would strive to
persuade the IPU to come up with a resolution to condemn the
violence.
The Israeli Knesset canceled its plan to send a delegation to
the conference due to rising tension over the country's conflict
with Palestinians in recent days.
In his speech at the rally, Amien warned the government
against opening diplomatic ties with Israel.
"Whoever they are, whatever their positions, those who suggest
that Indonesia should have diplomatic ties with the Israeli
government already have the characteristics of a Zionist," Amien
said, who is also a Middle East expert.
Elsewhere in the capital, some 200 students from the Muslim
students organization at the University of Indonesia staged an
anti-Israel rally in front of the United Nations representative
office on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.
The rally ended peacefully, with the students leaving for the
MPR/DPR compound to join other demonstrators.
Later in the day, about 100 activists of the Muslim Students
Association (HMI) and 50 people from the Students and Youth Care
Indonesia Committee (Komppi) held a boisterous rally in front of
the United States embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central
Jakarta, to protest the country's inaction toward Israel.
The demonstration turned violent as several police personnel
beat up some protesters after one of them tossed a firecracker
into the embassy's compound.
Police personnel also beat up two photographers from Tajuk and
Tempo magazines who were trying to take pictures of the police
hitting the protesters with their sticks.
A similar rally took place in Surabaya, when thousands of
people marched from several mosques to the American Consulate
General's office after saying their Friday prayers.
The rally, which they called Muslim Solidarity for Palestine
Suffering, was marked by the burning of American and Israeli
flags. Heavy traffic jams resulted from the demonstration.
In Bandung, West Java, an anti-Israel rally was staged by at
least 1,000 people at the Islamic Teaching Center (Pusdai) on Jl.
Diponegoro.
The people, who came from the Justice Party, the United
Development Party, the National Mandate Party, the Crescent and
Moon Party (PBB), as well as universities, also urged President
Abdurrahman Wahid to resign from the Shimon Peres Peace Center as
a move to demonstrate the government's disapproval Israel.
Other rallies took place in Makassar, South Sulawesi and
Medan, North Sumatra, each attended by hundreds of students.
Amidst the united voice against Israel, observer Mochtar
Mas'oed warned to be watchful for political elite taking
advantage of the anti-Israel mood to amass support for their own
objectives.
"It has been an old practice that foreign policy here is
always linked to domestic politics. Akbar Tanjung, too, joins the
condemnation in order to gain political support from Muslims,"
Mas'oed of the Gadjah Mada University said.
(25/39/44/jun/nur/jaw)