TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

RI initiates diplomatic salvo to unite OIC

Indonesia has summoned representatives from 31 foreign missions in a rallying call to unite member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ahead of diplomatic talks in Egypt and Turkey

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, July 26, 2017

Share This Article

Change Size

RI initiates diplomatic salvo to unite OIC

I

ndonesia has summoned representatives from 31 foreign missions in a rallying call to unite member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) ahead of diplomatic talks in Egypt and Turkey.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi gathered nine ambassadors, eight chargés d’affaires and 10 other representatives of foreign missions in a bid to project a united front in the aftermath of turmoil in Jerusalem.

Retno briefed the foreign delegates on Indonesia’s position concerning the situation at Al-Aqsa Mosque, where violence erupted following a crackdown by Israeli security forces on Palestinian Muslims seeking unimpeded access to the holy site.

She said she hoped that, by communicating Indonesia’s position to the OIC member countries, they would in turn pass on the message of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country to their respective capitals.

“We cannot afford to stand by silently while the situation unravels; something needs to be done to stop the violence happening at Al-Aqsa,” Retno told the press after the ambassadorial briefing.

“I have encouraged the [OIC member state] envoys to do the same.”

Indonesia has bent over backward trying to bring together countries from the Middle East in a united front to address the Palestinian-Israeli crisis after the situation at the mosque complex escalated over the weekend, leaving eight people dead.

Retno contacted a number of partner countries, including the United States, Jordan and Turkey, in its effort to push the matter onto the agenda of multilateral fora, including the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which convened a closed-door meeting in New York on Monday.

Ministry officials said the UNSC was scheduled to hold an open debate on Tuesday.

Indonesia hosted an extraordinary OIC summit in 2015, which resulted in the Jakarta Declaration that urged OIC countries that were also non-permanent members of the UNSC to put the Palestinian-Israeli conflict onto the agenda in New York.

Alongside like-minded countries concerned about the situation in Jerusalem, Retno is expected to take part on Aug. 1 in an open-ended extraordinary meeting of the OIC hosted by Turkey in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, the League of Arab States is set to hold an extraordinary ministerial meeting in Cairo on Wednesday.

While the government cautiously welcomed the removal of metal detectors at the mosque site by Israel, Retno noted the need for inspections to ascertain whether other forms of barriers had been erected restricting Palestinian Muslims’ right to worship at Al-Aqsa.

The Israeli government had installed metal detectors at the compound following the July 14 attack in Jerusalem’s old city that left two police officers dead. Palestinians rejected the detectors, viewing the move as an assertion of control over the holy Islamic site, and are praying on the street in front of the mosque in a sign of protest.

Hamdan Basyar, a researcher of Middle Eastern affairs from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), noted a positive signal in that OIC countries like Turkey and Egypt, which also retain diplomatic ties with Israel, are at the forefront of efforts to de-escalate the situation.

“The OIC itself was created to address the situation in Palestine. Hopefully [the Middle Eastern nations] can set aside their differences on issues such as the Qatar crisis and come together [to find solutions],” Hamdan told the Post on Tuesday.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.