SBY's Story of Sending AHY as Part of Indonesia's First Peacekeeping Force to Lebanon

JAKARTA - The sixth President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), recalled the time when he issued a policy to send United Nations Peacekeeping Troops to Lebanon (UNIFIL). He wrote about this story in a post on his X account @SBYudhoyono on Sunday night (5 April 2026). In his post, SBY said that during his presidency in Indonesia, he took the initiative and proposed to the UN to send one Indonesian battalion plus as part of UNIFIL. “This is the history: in August 2006, there was a war between Israel and Lebanon. The main casualties fell on the Lebanese side,” said SBY, quoted by Kompas.com on Monday (6 April 2026). Then, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi visited Jakarta. At that time, SBY proposed to Badawi, who also served as Chair of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), to hold an emergency meeting to urge the UN to act immediately. “A few days later, PM Abdullah Badawi held an emergency OIC meeting in Kuala Lumpur. In addition to Indonesia and Malaysia, other leaders present included Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, and Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora. Several other heads of state/heads of government were also present,” said SBY. At that time, he conveyed that Indonesia was ready to send one battalion as part of the peacekeeping force on the Israel-Lebanon border. “I still remember, because it required the use of mechanised combat vehicles and our Anoa was not ready yet, I immediately called French President Jacques Chirac, with the aim that Indonesia wanted to buy French-made VAB combat vehicles to be sent to Lebanon immediately,” added SBY. That swift action bore fruit; France agreed to the purchase, and the delivery process was carried out quickly because in that arms procurement, SBY used a G to G or government-to-government format. Then, three months after SBY’s proposal, Indonesia’s first contingent, Garuda XXIII/A, was able to depart for Lebanon. “For information, three members of President Prabowo’s cabinet were part of that Indonesian contingent, namely Captain Kav Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman, First Lieutenant Inf Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, and First Lieutenant Kav Ossy Dermawan,” he said. SBY then mentioned that up to 2026, Indonesia has deployed 19 contingents to Lebanon with an average assignment period of one year. “Perhaps this is the longest UN mission undertaken by Indonesian troops,” he said again. “Do your best and take good care of yourselves. Your loving families are waiting for your return to the homeland,” he concluded.