Golkar asks Indonesia to mediate Thailand conflict

The Golkar Party has urged the government to play a more active role in bringing peace back to Thailand by mediating between the conflicting parties there.
 
“Indonesia and Thailand have important economic ties. Therefore, we have an interest in resolving the conflict as soon as possible,” Golkar’s Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, one of the deputy chairmen of the House of Representatives’ Commission I on foreign affairs, told a press conference Tuesday.
 
Agus said Golkar proposed its former chairman, Jusuf Kalla, as a mediator due to his experience in peace-making efforts and his current role as the Indonesian Red Cross chief.
 
“Pak Kalla’s position as the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross is of added value,” Agus said.

As the vice president, Kalla once held an informal meeting in Bogor in 2008 to end conflict in southern Thailand.

International media reports that the ongoing civil conflict in Thailand has escalated to a worrying level, with more than 30 deaths.