Govt's Initiative to Lobby NAM for Paletine Appreciated

Jakarta - The Indonesian government's initiative to lobby Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) members to support the admission of Palestine into UN membership, has been appreciated. "Indonesia is a strategic lobbyist for Palestine's UN membership bid, especially among Muslim-majority nations," Guspiabri Sumowigeno, the director of the Center for Indonesian National Policy Studies (CINAPS) said here on Friday. The United Nations deeply owes Palestine for its membership because since the beginning Palestine has been included in the UN Decolonization Committee and received supports from many countries. The UN, however, had given priorities to least-Muslim populated East Timor and South Sudan by facilitating referendum for their independence, and left behind Palestine, he said. East Timor and South Sudan were much later than Palestine in fighting for their independence, but now the newest countries have become members of the UN, he added. For parts of the Muslim world, it has clearly reflected that not all religious communities have received equal treatment in the international norm and laws, he explained. The UN should listen to the wish of the Palestinian people, and should facilitate a referendum such as those in East Timor and South Sudan if the Palestinians want it. "The independence of Palestine fully depends on the wish of the Palestinian people, not on any countries," he said. The international Muslim communities' support for Palestine is expected to give a strong pressure to the US and other Western countries to recognize Palestine's independence and stop the double standard attitude, according to Guspiabri. The foreign affairs ministry recently announced that the Indones