https://arab.news/6qfea
- Retno Marsudi to speak at ICJ public hearing on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine next month
- Indonesia vocal with support for Gaza since deadly escalation began in October
JAKARTA: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi denounced on Monday the West’s “double standards” on Gaza, as she pledged continued support for Palestine.
Indonesia has long been a staunch supporter of Palestine, with its people and government seeing Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
The Indonesian government has consistently condemned Israeli violence, while also rallying international support since Tel Aviv’s bombardment of Gaza escalated in early October.
Israel’s relentless military campaign has since killed more than 22,000 Palestinians and destroyed or damaged most homes in the besieged strip.
“The case of Palestine showed double standards from a number of countries in the world, especially those in the Global North,” Marsudi said during her annual press statement.
“Global North countries are suddenly quiet as they watch humanitarian violations. Where’s all the lectures they often give about human rights? Doesn’t Palestine have the same rights as the rest of us? Why does it seem like the nation of Palestine is below us?”
Indonesia was part of a ministerial committee assigned by the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic Summit in November, which pushed for an end to Israel’s ongoing deadly onslaught on Gaza.
Members of the committee, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, met officials representing each of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to increase pressure on the West to reject Israel’s justification of its bombardment of Gaza as self-defense.
Marsudi noted that she would be representing Indonesia at the International Court of Justice on Feb. 19, where she is scheduled to speak at a public hearing to urge the ICJ to give an advisory opinion that strengthens Palestine’s legal standing.
The hearing at The Hague is a follow-up to a December 2022 resolution passed by the UN General Assembly calling on the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.
“The point is that the UN cannot forget the struggle of the nation of Palestine,” Marsudi added.
She also highlighted how the UN Security Council was unable “to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” referring to its failure to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire last month after it was vetoed by the US.
Speaking from the Merdeka Building in Bandung, West Java, Marsudi pointed out that the venue was a reminder of Indonesia’s “debt” to Palestine.
The building is a museum commemorating the 1955 Asian-African Conference, which had aimed to oppose colonialism and eventually led to the Non-Aligned Movement. Of more than two dozen countries which participated then, Palestine is the only one that has yet to gain its independence.
“This building is a reminder of a debt that we have yet to pay, and that is the independence of Palestine,” she said. “Indonesia will always fight for Palestine.”