Indonesia disagrees with US on Palestine's UNESCO membership by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 2, 2011  (ANTARA News) - Palestine`s bid for UNESCO membership is in accordance with the vision of a two-state solution and therefore Indonesia was supporting it, despite opposition from the US government.
     "Indonesia`s stance is different, of course. Indonesia was even one of the co-sponsors of the Palestinian bid for UNESCO membership, as we also support Palestine`s bid for UN membership in New York," Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said in Paris on Tuesday (Nov 1).

      Marty said Indonesia believed in a two state solution where Palestine and Israel could live side by side.
The admission of Palestine into the UN and UN agencies must not be necessarily seen as an obstacle to or the end of the peace process, because both could support each other, he said.
     "We think, the fundamental issue here is that an independent Palestinian state needs to be given full membership in the UN and UNESCO. This is still a process and we don`t want to give the impression as if we don`t support the (Middle East) peace process. On the contrary, it (Palestine`s UNESCO membership) could be made to match (the peace process), they need not be two contradictory options," he said.
      Indonesia had been and still is a supporter, initiator and co-sponsor of Palestine`s efforts to become a full member of the Paris-based UNESCO and New York-based UN.
     The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit Palestine as a full member on Monday (Oct 31).
     Palestine`s wish which required the approval of two-thirds of the number of UNESCO members, passed with 107 votes in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstentions.It was the first such vote by a UN agency.
     The United States decided to cut funding to UNESCO after the agency voted to accept Palestine`s bid for full membership, the US State Department said Monday (Oct 31).
    "Today`s vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is regrettable, premature and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive just and lasting peace in the Middle East," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
    An Indonesian legislator said the US decision to stop funding UNESCO was a step to drag UNESCO into the political arena.
    "There was a statement that the (Palestinian) membership in UNESCO could undermine the efforts to find a peaceful solution. What is the correlation between UNESCO and a peaceful solution?" Sidarto Danusubroto, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR)`s Commission I, said here on Tuesday.
     "It`s a concern if now Palestine is admitted as a full member of the UN agency, and then immediately the US cuts off the funding," Sidarto, a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDIP), said.
     He added the Indonesian government must support Palestine as full member of UNESCO.
    "We should be happy because it`s a universal recognition for the Palestinian nation whose rights have been denied so far," he said.
    "UNESCO has a program to educate the people and if Palestine is admitted as a UNESCO member, I think it`s because Palestine indeed needs UNESCO assistance," he added.
     Hamdan Basyar, international affairs observer of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said the US will definitely continue obstructing Palestine`s bid to become a UN member because the super power is applying a double standard policy when it concerns its ally`s interest, an international affairs observer said,
     He called on other nations to pressure the US and question the US double standard policy.
    "If necessary, take over the funding for UNESCO," he said.
    Hamdan said the US` stance was not in accordance with President Barack Obama`s promise last year that he would support a Palestinian independent state and Palestine`s bid for UN full membership.
   "The change in (Obama`s) stance has something to do with his bid for a second term in the next presidential elections," he said.
    In anticipation of a funding shortfall in UNESCO, Zainuddin Djafar, an international relations expert at the University of Indonesia (UI) suggested that countries in the Arab League provide financial contribution to UNESCO.
    "This is a momentum for Arab League member and other emerging countries such as China to play an active role and provide UNESCO with funds," he said.
     He said the US` reaction to Palestine having become a permanent member of UNESCO was a reflection of panic about a sign that US global influence was waning.
    "The decision to cut its financial assistance to UNESCO can also be seen as an effort to show off its power, especially to China as the latter was one of the countries that voted in favor of Palestine`s admission as a permanent UNESCO member," he said.
    Begi Hersutanto, a researcher from the Indonesian Center for Democracy, Defense and Diplomacy, warned the US` decision to stop its financial assistance to UNESCO could boomerang.
    "The US decision could boomerang because it has the potential of causing an escalation in radical anti-American movements and fundamentalism," he said.
     He also criticized the US for its double standards which were reflected in the fact that while the US Constitution upholds the American people`s human rights, the US government`s foreign policy supports or allows the occupation of one country by another.
    "The US also tends to take other devious measures, including diplomatic steps and lobbies to pressure various international entities, including Indonesia, not to support Palestine," Begi said.
    "It should be remembered that the future of UNESCO will not solely depend on the US because the organization has more than 100 members. However, the funding cut would affect the UN agency`s performance," he said.
   The Monday vote made UNESCO the first UN agency to accept Palestine as a full member since Palestine`s President Mahmoud Abbas applied for formal UN membership at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23.
    Despite heavy lobbying by US diplomats, 107 nations voted in favour of Palestinian membership, while only 14 countries opposed it. Fifty-two countries abstained, while 21 states were absent. Admission as a new member requires a two-thirds majority vote by UNESCO`s General Conference.
    Voting against Palestinian membership with the US and Israel were Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Panama and a handful of South Pacific island-nations.
    Membership in UNESCO normally translates into automatic membership in several other UN agencies, including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as a result of reciprocity agreements between them.
     The US has threatened to veto the UN membership application, which is currently under study by UN technical experts, if and when it comes to a vote. The UN Security Council has decided to discuss the matter in November.(*) 

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