SBY Urges UN to Avoid Double Standards in Investigating Deaths of Three TNI Personnel in Lebanon

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesia’s sixth president, General (Retired) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), acknowledges that United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces lack full armament. SBY is urging the UN to take a firm stance on the incident involving peacekeeping troops.

SBY made these remarks in response to the deaths of three TNI personnel serving with UNIFIL. He explained that UN peacekeeping units, such as the current Garuda XXIII Contingent on duty in Lebanon, are tasked with maintaining peace (peacekeeping), not making peace.

“Peacekeepers are not heavily armed and are not mandated to carry out combat tasks,” SBY stated on his X account, as quoted in Jakarta on Monday (6/4/2026).

SBY clarified that this is governed by Chapter 6 of the UN Charter, not Chapter 7, which has a mission to enforce peace, meaning carrying out “harder” tasks for peacemaking. He noted that TNI troops serving on the blue line or in the blue zone are not in a combat area or “war zone”.

“The Indonesian contingent is essentially tasked with duties on the ‘blue line’ that separates Israeli territory from Lebanese territory,” said the former commander of UN Peacekeeping Observers in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1995-1996.

Currently, according to SBY, the Indonesian contingent, which was originally around the blue line, is now in a war zone. Thus, they face daily skirmishes in battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. Reports indicate that Israeli troops have advanced seven kilometres from the blue line.

“This situation is certainly very dangerous for peacekeepers, as they could become victims of the ongoing battles at any moment,” SBY stated.

Based on this reasoning, SBY is pushing for the UN to promptly make decisive decisions and steps to halt UNIFIL deployments. Alternatively, their headquarters could be relocated outside the current active combat zones.

“The UN Security Council must convene immediately and issue a firm and clear resolution,” SBY urged.