Jokowi still supports anindependentPalestine

JAKARTA — President Joko Widodo has again expressed his support for an independent Palestine, urging participants of the Muhammadiyah congress he opened yesterday to speak out on the matter.

“As the state with the largest Muslim population in the world, we have to dare to voice (support for) Palestinian independence,” he said in a speech for members of Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest socio-religious organisation, and its women’s wing Aisyiyah. The President also said in his speech that he hoped the group would use the nation’s growing prominence on the international stage to showcase how peace and harmony can be achieved amid ethnic, religious and cultural diversity.

He said: “I hope that Muhammadiyah … takes responsibility for and appreciates diversity. Build an Indonesia that appreciates diversity, and create eternal peace and social justice.”

At the Asian-African Conference (AAC) held in Bandung this year, Mr Widodo reiterated his support for an independent Palestine, vowing that Indonesia would push for Palestinian membership in the United Nations.

“The world has helplessly witnessed the suffering of Palestine’s people, who live in fear and injustice under a protracted occupation. We cannot turn away from the suffering of the people of Palestine … We must support the birth of an independent Palestine,” he told the AAC delegates.

A statement to support an independent Palestine was agreed upon at the 2015 AAC. Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi welcomed the support, stressing that Palestine’s lack of independence is unfinished business for the AAC.

Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, who played a pivotal role in the 2005 peace agreement between the separatist Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government, said last year that a Joko Widodo-led administration would commit to help resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. He also believed Indonesia should mediate between the two. “We can’t be a mediator if we don’t know Israel. We must be close with both Israel and Palestine,” he said. JAKARTA GLOBE