Year-Ender: RI, PALESTINE MOVE TOWARD CONCRETE COOPERATION by Fardah

     Jakarta, Dec. 30, 2008  (ANTARA) - The year 2008 is about to end, and there is not even a slightest hint that a Palestine state will  enjoy full independence as promised in the US-sponsored Annapolis Conference held in November 2007.
     Instead of delivering the promise, Israel has sent bombs which killed more than 300 Palestinians and injured over 1,000 others since December 27, 2008, when  Christians were still celebrating   Christmas and Muslims Islamic New Year 1430 Hegira.

     The unhonored promise is actually no surprise to anybody as some analysts had suspected that Israel was still determined to occupy Palestine and  outgoing US President George Bush had wanted to make the Annapolis Middle East Conference just  'a lipstick' to improve his image which looked not so good in  Middle East countries.
    The Bush administration in Annapolis lured leaders of Arab countries and other states supporting Palestine by a promise of a Palestinian state by the end of 2008.
    Now, the unmet deadline of 2008 clearly proves the failure of the Annapolis Conference, which has even widened the rift between the President Abbas-led Palestine, which was invited to Annapolis, and Hamas which had left out from the conference.
    However,  despite the disappointment about unfulfilled US  promise, Palestine and Indonesia - as one of Pelestine's staunch supporters - filled  2008 with a number of activities toward concrete cooperation.
     In reaction to the recent brutal Israeli attacks, the Indonesian people and government were among the first to condemn the Zionist state and offered assistance, which would include humanitarian aid worth one million US dollars and a US$200,000 package of medicines to Palestine.
     The determination of Indonesia and Palestine to embark  on concrete cooperation came into the spotlight when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Jakarta in October 2007.
     Witnessed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President Abbas, Palestine and Indonesia signed a Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on training and courses for Palestinian diplomats and policemen, sister-city cooperation between Al Quds (Jerusalem) and Jakarta, regular consultations between the two administrations, and news exchange between ANTARA News Agency and Wafa News Agency.
     Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi told ANTARA that the two nations had decided to move forward to concrete cooperation from their previous efforts which were mostly political and moral in nature.
     President Yudhoyono when receiving Palestinian Prime Mnister Salam Fayyad in Jakarta in July 2008, said Indonesia was committed to providing trainings for 1,000 Palestinian  civil servants in a five-year program.
     In April 2008, the Foreign Ministry in cooperation with the Office of the State Minister for Cooperatives, Small and Medium Businesses launched a training program in the business incubator field to help develop Palestine's small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The program was participated in by eight Palestinian officials, businessmen and SME experts.
    Indonesia also supported Palestine to be a full-fledged member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in the IPU Assembly in Geneva, October 2008. The effort was successful, despite objections from some countries, such as Israel, Abdillah Toha, an Indonesian legislator, wrote  on his Web blog.  Palestine had just been an observer in IPU for over the last 20 years.
     A number of international meetings in support of Palestine were hosted by Indonesia during 2008.
     From May 14-15, 2008, an international conference themed "Freedom and Right of Return: Palestine and 60 Years of Ethnic Cleansing (Nakba)" was organized at the University of Indonesia campus in Depok, West Java, and was officially opened by House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono.
      Another international conference on Palestine called Ministerial Conference on Capacity Building for Palestine was held in Jakarta, July 14-15, and was officially opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace.
    Speaking at the opening of the conference, Yudhoyono said, it  was time for concrete cooperation, and no longer time to just express sympathy for Palestine for the problems they were facing.  
     The head of state took an example of Indonesia and Palestine cooperation in education program for both countries' diplomats. "The program is part of our bilateral cooperation."
     Under the program, Indonesia shared experiences of its diplomats in the fights to reach the national freedom and independence.
     Capacity building in all sectors, he added, would help Palestinians to prepare for their country's independence.
    Indonesia again hosted an International Humanitarian Conference on Assistance for Victims of Occupation in Palestine (IHCAVO) in Jakarta, from October 31 to November 2, 2008, which was attended by about 500 NGOs from 25 countries.
     The Conference issued a 14-point Jakarta Declaration among other things emphasizing health care and socio-economic assistance for Palestine, and setting up of a Palestinian Entrepreneurs Forum to help improve Palestine's economy.
                                        Human right issue
     For many Indonesians,  the Palestinian problem is a gross human  right violation, and not merely a religion issue.
     Former Indonesian foreign affairs minister Ali Alatas, who passed away recently, last year had said Indonesia was supporting the Palestinian struggle for independence not because of religion but because of a basic principle.
    "Many quarters mistakenly think that Indonesia's support for Palestine is related to religion," Alatas said in Jakarta, December 2007 during a dialog on Indonesia's role in the post-Annapolis Middle East peace process.
     He said Indonesia's support was purely a matter of principle, something dictated by its constitution which says that independence is the inalienable right of every nation and therefore, all forms of colonialism must be abolished.
     "Indonesia very much adheres to this principle. So, its support for Palestine is not because we share the same religion," said Alatas, who once told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Jakarta that Indonesia was a friend to the US, but not an ally to the US.
     After attending the Annapolis Conference in November 2007, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said also that Indonesia will acknowledge and open diplomatic ties with Israel only when a Palestinian state is established.
     "Until Palestine, based on the negotiation process, could establish an independent Palestinian state, then we will acknowledge Israel and open diplomatic ties with Israel," Minister Wirajuda said.
      Indonesia has also been tirelessly supporting and defending Palestine in various international political and diplomatic arena, especially in the United Nations Security Council, when Indonesia was a non-permanent member in 2008.
     President Yudhoyono when speaking before 200 members of the US-Indonesia Society (USINDO) in Washington DC, November 2008, called on the US administration to push for the speedy realization of  an  independent Palestinian state.
    Despite the Annapolis Conference's recommendation for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in 2008, the President regretted that there was still no sign that it would happen in the remaining time in 2008.
      "I therefore sincerely hope that the next US administration would pick up where President Bush left off, and make it a priority issue," he said.
    The realization of the much awaited two-state solution would considerably reduce strategic and political tension in the Middle-East and also significantly enhance America's image in the Muslim world, the President said.
    Minister Wirajuda also once said that peace in Palestine would  contribute to the world peace,
     According to Yudhoyono, President-elect Barack Obama is well equipped to deal with regional issues, including the Palestinian issue as he had a strong electorate mandate.
      "I am confident that the next US administration will be able to meet these global challenges with imagination, with resolve, and with great effect," the president said.
    US President-elect Barack Obama  made history in the US by being elected as the first African American president in the super power country.
     Will he make more history and realize his slogan during his presidential campaign: "Change We Can Believe in", by delivering Palestinian independence during his presidency? Time will tell!
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