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)