INDONESIAN GOVT CALLS FOR DIALOG TO END VIOLENCE IN YEMEN by Fardah

    Jakarta, April 16, 2015 (Antara)  Indonesia and Yemen have a long and historically rich relationship, therefore the Indonesian government and people are very concerned over the prolonged violence going on in the Arab country.

        "Indonesia is very much concerned, and hopes the conflict in Yemen to be solved through dialogs and peaceful resolution," Indonesian Vice President M Jusuf Kalla told the press on April 15, 2015, as the tension has escalated in Yemen.        
   Therefore, the Indonesian government has proposed an establishment of a task force to facilitate dialog among parties involved in the Yemeni conflict.

        The task force proposal was conveyed to ambassadors of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries in a meeting with Kalla in Jakarta on April 15.  

    In the meeting, Kalla and the ambassadors discussed the importance of unity among Muslim majority countries throughout the world.

        When some leaders of the OIC member countries gather in Jakarta for the Asia-Africa Conference (AAC) Summit on April 22-23, 2015, the Indonesian government, as the host, will invite them to hold a separate meeting to discuss about conflicts going on in some Islamic  countries, particularly those in the Middle East region, including in Yemen.

        "We hope that during the AAC commemoration, the leaders of the OIC member countries can hold a meeting," Kalla stated.

        In late March 2015, the Indonesian foreign ministry issued a statement saying  the government of Indonesia expressed its deep concern in regard to the situation in Yemen.

       The government called on all parties to restraint itself from the use of violence and to ensure the safety of all civilians in Yemen - locals and foreigners, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a statement.

       Another concern was recently voiced by Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin.

        "The Indonesian nation, with the largest Muslim population in the world, is concerned and sad over the ongoing conflict in Yemen," Minister Saifuddin stated.

        Several lives have been sacrificed in the war, which has disturbed the routine life of Yemeni people and brought misery to the people, he pointed out.

        He urged the Indonesian people to pray for the war to stop, following the involvement of Saudi Arabia that has launched airstrikes against the Al Houthi rebel group.

        "Indonesia, of course, wants the conflict in Yemen to end, so that it would not affect the implementation of the annual Hajj pilgrimage," he emphasized.

        Two Islamic holy cities - Mecca and Medina, are located in Saudi Arabia, which is a neighbor of Yemen.

        "All of us pray for the war to end, so that it would not affect the preparations for the better implementation of Hajj pilgrimage," he remarked.

         Violence in Yemen has escalated after the Yemeni president and prime minister resigned on January 22, 2015, and rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi seized power in the country.  
   The UN humanitarian agencies reported that during the last two weeks of the military operation led by Saudi Arabia against Houthi rebels in Yemen, more than 650 people were killed and over 2,000 injured. It was also estimated that more than 10,000 people have already been displaced.

        Before the war, some 4,159 Indonesian citizens lived in Yemen, of which 2,626 were students, 1,488 were professional workers in oil and gas companies, and 45 were embassy staff and their families.

        Since February 2015, the Indonesian Government has conducted repatriation of Indonesian citizens from Yemen.

        "Given the current condition, it is now time to step up efforts to evacuate our citizens in Yemen," Minister Marsudi stated on March 30.

        Indonesia regretted over civilian casualties in the conflict in Yemen. "Indonesian government keeps urging all parties to hold themselves and watch the safety of civilians, both Yemenis and foreigners," the foreign ministry wrote on its website.

        The minister asked all parties in Yemen to call for humanitarian pause to give the opportunity for civilians to be evacuated from Yemen.

        In this matter, the minister has ordered Indonesian permanent representative in the UN to push UN Security Council to issue a resolution on the humanitarian pause.  
   This opportunity  will be used by Indonesian government to evacuate Indonesian citizens from Yemen as soon as possible.     
   Up to April 13, 2015, some 1,684 Indonesian citizens  have been evacuated from Yemen, according to the minister.

        Of the number, 1,002 people have arrived in  Indonesia, while the remaining 682 have been sent out of troubled regions in Yemen, pending for repatriation to Indonesia.

         The evacuation operation involves five Indonesian representatives namely the Indonesian Embassy in Sana'a, the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh, the Indonesian Embassy in Muscat, the Indonesian Embassy in Addis Ababa and Djibouti and the Indonesian Consulate in Jidda.

         Minister Marsudi also lauded the efforts of the evacuation team comprising representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Air Force, Police, and State Intelligence Agency (BIN).   
   The team members are assigned in Hudayah, Tarim and Al-Mukalla, Aden (Yemen), Salalah (Oman) and Djibouti.

        According to Marsudi, the evacuation was carried out quickly, safely, and efficiently thanks to the communication and coordination between all parties.

        Indonesia has even approached India to ask for assistance in the evacuation process from Aden, Yemen, according to Minister Retno Marsudi.

         Following a telephone call with her Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on April 10, 2015, Marsudi said that the two countries agreed to conduct joint evacuation efforts.

         "Today we will try to use an Indian vessel to move closer to Aden and we will try to open a passage to bring our nationals," she stated.

         According to the plan, the Indian Military's vessel with a capacity to carry 500 people would move closer to Aden on Friday night local time. However, the minister emphasized it is just an option as situation has been uncertain in Aden.

         There were 111 Indonesian citizens and 250 Indian nationals, besides 67 Malaysians and 4 Thai people waiting to be evacuated from Aden. 
   Earlier, the Malaysian and Thai governments asked whether Indonesia can consider their nationals in its evacuation operation.

        Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) General Moeldoko on April 14, 2015, said the government will repatriate Indonesian nationals from Yemen by land as the air route is no longer safe.

        "We have communicated with Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi as the TNI aircraft have been returned because it is unsafe to operate on the air route," General Moeldoko.

        Indonesia's military personnel have secured several Indonesian citizens in Aden and deployed a naval ship in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, for evacuation, he said.

        In the meantime, the Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor) has urged Indonesian Muslims to not get dragged into the Yemeni conflict, which involves Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Houthi rebels.

        "In the preamble of the 1945 Constitution, it is stated that Indonesia must be actively involved in efforts to maintain world peace. Therefore, regardless of what the excuse is or what the conflict in question is, we cannot accept war as a means to resolve a problem because it claims many victims," Chairman of GP Ansor Nusron Wahid said on April 13, 2015.

         GP Ansor still recognizes Abedrabbuh Mansour Al Hadi as the legitimate president of Yemen and does not accept the coup by Abdul Malek al Houthi.  "Ansor is against war to seize power," he emphasized.

         However, Wahid pointed out that the war in Yemen was not one between the Sunni and Shiite because Al Hadi and al Houthi were followers of Syi'ah Zaidiyyah.

         "(This war) is, in fact, a political rivalry among all nations (involved). As Indonesian nationals, we must not get involved or interfere," he reiterated, adding that war was not the solution, especially if it was a war among Muslims.

        As most of parties in Indonesia have called for peaceful solution, however, the Imam of Indonesia's Grant Mosque "Istiqlal" Ali Musthafa Ya'qub expressed his support for the Saudi Arabia-led military operation in Yemen, which is aimed at protecting the Yemenis from the radical group Houthis.

        "The support Saudi Arabia is lending to the Yemeni government is not about Shia or Sunni, but is to save the Yemeni people from the violence and harmful actions of a radical group," Ya'qub told the press recently.

        Ya'qub made the statement in the presence of dozens of ulemas during a joint press conference at the residence of Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia, Syekh Mustafa Ibrahim Al Mubarak in Jakarta.

        The radicalism was growing and spreading faster from the conflict areas to other regions, so it was also possible that Indonesia might be infiltrated, Ya'qub stated.

         Ulemas from the Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, Al Irsyad, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the ASEAN Rabbitah of Ulema, United Islam Indonesia, and Al Islamiyah also attended the press conference held at the Saudi Arabian ambassador's residence in Jakarta.

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