Jakarta. The UN General Assembly debate will test how far Indonesia will go to support Palestinians, especially after its Board of Peace (BoP) entry.

This year, Foreign Minister Sugiono will address the forum on behalf of President Prabowo Subianto, who skipped the trip over domestic affairs. Eyes are on Sugiono as he plans to reiterate Jakarta’s decades-old pro-Palestinian stance from the UN’s podium this weekend. 

Sugiono said that he had spent the past few days in New York discussing how to “enable a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and faster Gaza reconstruction”.

Yusli Effendi, an international relations lecturer at Brawijaya University, said Indonesia had been pursuing a “balancing act as a middle power”. He sees Indonesia's seat at BoP — the controversial US-led Gaza reconstruction body in which Israel is a part of — as an attempt at gaining influence, although Jakarta put the discussions related to the board on hold in March following the Iran war. At the same time, Prabowo’s recent “Free Palestine” chants at an Islamic boarding school reception are his way of “maintaining credibility at home and in the Muslim world”.  

“The problem is not the closeness with the US, but it is whether pragmatism has shifted our principles. That’s why the UN speech is crucial,” Yusli told the Jakarta Globe.

“We must not address Palestine with the old mantra. After joining BoP, what will Indonesia fight for from within?” 

CSIS researcher Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma urged Indonesia not to hold back on promoting Palestinian independence with the pre-1967 borders as the baseline. He advised Sugiono against “being softer than France”, following its leader Emmanuel Macron’s fiery Gaza speech at the UN.

“Indonesia must stand up against Palestinian erasure and join groups that are on the same page,” Waffaa said, while adding that support should not only be limited to humanitarian aid, but also political backing.

To Yusli, humanitarian aid — which Indonesia excels in — must not stop. However, Jakarta should consider helping Palestinians build their capacity, including their very own healthcare personnel and civil agencies.

"If the end goal is a Palestinian state, we should gauge the success of international support by whether they can manage their own country,” Yusli explained.

Questions linger on Jakarta’s participation — a deputy commander role at that — in the International Stabilization Force (ISF). The ISF’s stated aims are to train Palestinian policemen and help provide security. 

Yusli doubted the high-ranking position could mean veto power over the BoP design, although it dealt with “more concrete matters” like the rules of engagement. Waffaa admitted that the best course of action would be to quit the “very controversial” mandate. But if Jakarta decides to stay, it must stop anyone from using the ceasefire to gain illegal territories.

“Indonesia must make it clear that its participation in the ISF is to protect Palestinians from Israeli aggression,” Waffaa said.

Add as a preferred source on Google +