STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Muhaimin Iskandar, when receiving the visit of Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta expressed support for efforts to stop the war between Palestine and Israel, which is currently ongoing in the Gaza Strip.
He also urged the Indonesian government not to remain silent or give up, and asked the Foreign Ministry to make diplomatic efforts to support Palestinian independence.
Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar Chair Marzuki Darusman said there was a possibility that Indonesia was indirectly involved in Ukraine’s war with Russia. This involvement is related to allegations that three Indonesian state-owned companies carried out arms trade transactions with the Myanmar junta.
Marzuki said new evidence for the allegation could be found on the Ukrainian military website, Militarnyi (mil.in.ua), where Russia reportedly received ammunition from Myanmar in July 2023 in the form of 120mm mortars. The Militarnyi stated that all the markers had been removed, but they were able to identify the origin of this mortar.
On the sidelines of the U.N. Security Council special session, Retno Marsudi also held one-on-one talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It is not yet known what was discussed and whether any statements will be made to the public about the results of the talks between the two top diplomats.
Via X, Retno Marsudi tweeted that during the meeting she “reiterated Indonesia’s call to end the cycle of violence, ensure the open and safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and end the root causes of the conflict (Israel-Hamas) through a two-state solution in accordance with internationally agreed parameters”.
Indonesia took the initiative and collaborated with a number of countries to support the steps taken by the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to bring the discussion of the Gaza issue to an emergency session at the U.N. General Assembly, not the U.N. Security Council.
Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Arrmanatha Nasir, in a statement in New York, said that this plan had actually been a step for Indonesia from the start, because the government estimated that the U.N. Security Council would find it difficult to move on the Gaza issue.
The Palestinian group Hamas said a power outage at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip caused by a fuel crisis was a “crime against humanity”. Hamas urged Arab and Muslim countries and the United Nations to take the necessary steps to overcome the crisis.
In a statement published in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, Hamas considered the power outages “a disgrace to the countries that turned a blind eye or that joined the occupation in the aggression and genocide carried out against our people and unarmed civilians.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi voiced Indonesia’s disappointment with the work of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC), especially in responding to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Minister Retno noted that differences of opinion and the use of veto rights have hindered the work of the UNSC.
To this end, Indonesia is one of the countries that is pushing for the Palestinian issue to be discussed in the special emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 26, she said. According to the minister, the 193 U.N. member countries can decide to submit a draft resolution through a General Assembly vote, where no country has veto power.
World countries, including the United States and Russia, pushed for either a pause or ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip so that humanitarian aid could be delivered to besieged Palestinian civilians.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone agreed on broader diplomacy “to maintain stability across the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” the White House said.
The United States has advised Israel to hold off on a planned ground assault as Washington tries to free more of the 200-plus hostages Hamas is still holding captive in Gaza.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has said that the Israeli occupation forces’ ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip is not an act of self-defense, but a genocidal campaign against Palestinians.
He said Indonesia and several members of the U.N. Security Council have agreed to call for an immediate end to the “genocide.”
He also advocated for the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the distribution of aid to Gazans oppressed by the Israeli blockade.
