RI presses on with UN emergency meeting

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday the government would press on with its demand for the UN to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Hassan said he was skeptical the UN Security Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday would produce a resolution forcing a cease-fire agreement for both sides.

He said he had doubts on the effectiveness of the UN Security Council as it had failed to come up with a resolution during two informal meetings held after the Israeli aggression started Dec. 27.

"The informal meetings only produced statements, which weren't even official, even though more than 500 people have been killed," he said.

He said he though they had failed to do their duty to keep the peace between Israel and Palestine. In the last two meetings, the Council has not been able to create a resolution to end the conflict.

Earlier Monday, the Indonesian ambassador to the UN delivered a letter to the head of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to sponsor the emergency meeting.

NAM is made up of 117 countries which have consistently supported the Palestinian struggle to regain land occupied by Israel. They also constitute a majority within the UN membership, which
consists of 192 countries.

Hassan said he was optimistic that NAM will support the meeting, particularly since such negotiating played out during a similar instance.

During Israel's attacks on Lebanon in 2006, the Security Council and the Arab nations did not act until the Organization of the Islamic Conference held an emergency meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Aside from using its diplomatic ties to help Palestine, Indonesia has also promised up to US$2 million in humanitarian aid, such as medicine and basic needs.

"There is no other choice but an international push for the meeting," Hassan said, "The world can not let this atrocity continue." (emh)