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Indonesia condemns ballistic missile aimed at Mecca
Indonesia has conveyed its protest following the launch of a ballistic missile allegedly aimed at the Islamic holy city of Mecca, asserting that the act violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia, a minister has said.
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Strengthening solidarity — Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (center) speaks during an emergency session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 17. (Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry/File)
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ndonesia has conveyed its protest following the launch of a ballistic missile allegedly aimed at the Islamic holy city of Mecca, asserting that the act violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia, a minister has said.
“Indonesia condemns and cannot tolerate any action or attack targeting any holy site," Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi stated on Thursday evening. The minister was speaking in response to a missile attack launched in late October by Yemen's insurgent Houthi militia. The missile was intercepted by Riyadh.
Retno conveyed Indonesia’s stance on the incident during an emergency ministerial-level meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca on Thursday. The meeting endorsed a resolution on the ballistic missile launched by the Houthi group.
At the meeting, Retno stressed the importance of OIC member states reinforcing their commitment to improving cooperation and solidarity to maintain peace, security and stability, especially in the Islamic world.
Despite the geographical distance between Indonesia and Yemen, Retno expressed the country’s concerns over the Yemeni civil war that has impacted Indonesia's interests in the region. In the conflict, she said, an Indonesian diplomat was injured while thousands of Indonesians had been evacuated from the country.
Retno said Indonesia continued to encourage a peaceful and inclusive political settlement to the conflict in Yemen as attempted by the UN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The OIC meeting led by Uzbekistan, which heads the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, appointed Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen as the new OIC secretary-general, replacing Iyad Madani who resigned at the end of October. (ebf)
