Antara News,
by Fardah, Wed, November 2 2011
Indonesia
had been and still is a supporter, initiator and co-sponsor of Palestine`s
efforts to become a full member of the Paris-based UNESCO and New York-based
UN.
Related
News
Jakarta
(ANTARA News) - Palestine`s bid for UNESCO membership is in accordance with the
vision of a two-state solution and therefore Indonesia was supporting it,
despite opposition from the US government.
"Indonesia`s
stance is different, of course. Indonesia was even one of the co-sponsors of
the Palestinian bid for UNESCO membership, as we also support Palestine`s bid
for UN membership in New York," Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa
said in Paris on Tuesday (Nov 1).
Marty said
Indonesia believed in a two state solution where Palestine and Israel could
live side by side.
The
admission of Palestine into the UN and UN agencies must not be necessarily seen
as an obstacle to or the end of the peace process, because both could support
each other, he said.
"We
think, the fundamental issue here is that an independent Palestinian state
needs to be given full membership in the UN and UNESCO. This is still a process
and we don`t want to give the impression as if we don`t support the (Middle
East) peace process. On the contrary, it (Palestine`s UNESCO membership) could
be made to match (the peace process), they need not be two contradictory
options," he said.
Indonesia
had been and still is a supporter, initiator and co-sponsor of Palestine`s
efforts to become a full member of the Paris-based UNESCO and New York-based
UN.
The United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to
admit Palestine as a full member on Monday (Oct 31).
Palestine`s
wish which required the approval of two-thirds of the number of UNESCO members,
passed with 107 votes in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstentions.It was the first
such vote by a UN agency.
The United
States decided to cut funding to UNESCO after the agency voted to accept
Palestine`s bid for full membership, the US State Department said Monday (Oct
31).
"Today`s
vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is
regrettable, premature and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive just
and lasting peace in the Middle East," said State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland.
An
Indonesian legislator said the US decision to stop funding UNESCO was a step to
drag UNESCO into the political arena.
"There
was a statement that the (Palestinian) membership in UNESCO could undermine the
efforts to find a peaceful solution. What is the correlation between UNESCO and
a peaceful solution?" Sidarto Danusubroto, a member of the House of
Representatives (DPR)`s Commission I, said here on Tuesday.
"It`s
a concern if now Palestine is admitted as a full member of the UN agency, and
then immediately the US cuts off the funding," Sidarto, a politician from
the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDIP), said.
He added
the Indonesian government must support Palestine as full member of UNESCO.
"We
should be happy because it`s a universal recognition for the Palestinian nation
whose rights have been denied so far," he said.
"UNESCO
has a program to educate the people and if Palestine is admitted as a UNESCO
member, I think it`s because Palestine indeed needs UNESCO assistance," he
added.
Hamdan
Basyar, international affairs observer of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) said the US will definitely continue obstructing Palestine`s bid to
become a UN member because the super power is applying a double standard policy
when it concerns its ally`s interest, an international affairs observer said,
He called
on other nations to pressure the US and question the US double standard policy.
"If
necessary, take over the funding for UNESCO," he said.
Hamdan said
the US` stance was not in accordance with President Barack Obama`s promise last
year that he would support a Palestinian independent state and Palestine`s bid
for UN full membership.
"The
change in (Obama`s) stance has something to do with his bid for a second term
in the next presidential elections," he said.
In
anticipation of a funding shortfall in UNESCO, Zainuddin Djafar, an
international relations expert at the University of Indonesia (UI) suggested
that countries in the Arab League provide financial contribution to UNESCO.
"This
is a momentum for Arab League member and other emerging countries such as China
to play an active role and provide UNESCO with funds," he said.
He said the
US` reaction to Palestine having become a permanent member of UNESCO was a
reflection of panic about a sign that US global influence was waning.
"The
decision to cut its financial assistance to UNESCO can also be seen as an
effort to show off its power, especially to China as the latter was one of the countries
that voted in favor of Palestine`s admission as a permanent UNESCO
member," he said.
Begi
Hersutanto, a researcher from the Indonesian Center for Democracy, Defense and
Diplomacy, warned the US` decision to stop its financial assistance to UNESCO
could boomerang.
"The
US decision could boomerang because it has the potential of causing an
escalation in radical anti-American movements and fundamentalism," he
said.
He also
criticized the US for its double standards which were reflected in the fact
that while the US Constitution upholds the American people`s human rights, the
US government`s foreign policy supports or allows the occupation of one country
by another.
"The
US also tends to take other devious measures, including diplomatic steps and
lobbies to pressure various international entities, including Indonesia, not to
support Palestine," Begi said.
"It
should be remembered that the future of UNESCO will not solely depend on the US
because the organization has more than 100 members. However, the funding cut
would affect the UN agency`s performance," he said.
The Monday
vote made UNESCO the first UN agency to accept Palestine as a full member since
Palestine`s President Mahmoud Abbas applied for formal UN membership at the UN
General Assembly on Sept. 23.
Despite
heavy lobbying by US diplomats, 107 nations voted in favour of Palestinian
membership, while only 14 countries opposed it. Fifty-two countries abstained,
while 21 states were absent. Admission as a new member requires a two-thirds
majority vote by UNESCO`s General Conference.
Voting
against Palestinian membership with the US and Israel were Australia, Canada,
the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Panama and a
handful of South Pacific island-nations.
Membership
in UNESCO normally translates into automatic membership in several other UN
agencies, including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), as a result of reciprocity agreements between them.
The US has
threatened to veto the UN membership application, which is currently under
study by UN technical experts, if and when it comes to a vote. The UN Security
Council has decided to discuss the matter in November.
Editor: Heru
 |
Unesco's 193 members are meeting for their general conference,
which takes place every two years |
