Andy Romdoni

U.N. Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting, Discussing U.S. Attack to Iraq and Syria

2024-02-05T21:07:28+07:00

Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Dmitry Polyansky, on X social media, Saturday (3/2) wrote that Russia in a UN Security Council emergency meeting has requested to discuss the threat against international peace due to the U.S. attack on Iraq and Syria. He hoped the meeting could be held on Monday (5/3).

The U.S. on Friday (02/02/2024) launched an attack on Iraq and Syria, as a retaliation for a drone attack that killed three US troops in Jordan.

The U.S. military said the air strike hit more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, aiming for Quds elite troops from Iran's Revolutionary Guards who were there and the militia affiliated with them.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who observed the war said at least 18 pro-Iran fighters died in the attack in east Syria. Some 26 main locations accommodated pro-Iran groups and the arsenal was destroyed.

The tension in the Middle East rose since Hamas, which allegedly received support from Iran, on October 7 launched an attack on Israel. The attack was then countered with nonstop bombing in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which began a prolonged crisis. Hamas is a part of the Palestinian government that is fighting for independence and full sovereignty.

On the one hand, the conflict then spread with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houth in Yemen, which announced support for the fight for Palestine.

Indonesia, on the other hand, on various occasions urged a ceasefire that enables humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in Gaza, which is the worst victim of the conflict.

For Indonesia, consistency among values in international law and implementation of deeds would show the level of the world's people's morality. It needed conscience to stop Palestinians' suffering. Respect for international law must apply to all issues, including Ukraine, Gaza, and Palestine. All countries must uphold international law and be responsible for ensuring international law applies as a whole and not partially.

UN Secretary General Pleads Nations to Keep Donating UNRWA

2024-01-29T16:57:23+07:00

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday asked donor countries to guarantee the continuity of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine - UNRWA. The statement was given after some countries announced to temporarily stop donations to the agency because of the allegation of UNWRA's staff in Hamas attack against Israel on October 7.

Despite understanding donor countries' concerns, Guterres asked them to at least guarantee UNRWA's operational continuity.

Ambassador of Israel to the UN Gilad Erdan during the International Holocaust Remembrance Day said the UNRWA members joined in the Hamas attack on October 7.

The statement was answered by UNRWA by firing some staff. However, some UNRWA donor countries responded by stopping the funding. Germany, the UK, Italy, Australia, and Finland on Saturday followed the US, based on Israel's accusation, in stopping additional funding to UNRWA.

Guterres said despite the wrongdoing of some UNRWA staff, the other thousands of humanitarian workers should not be sanctioned too. According to him, the urgent need of the desperate people served by UNRWA must still be fulfilled.

Meanwhile, UNRWA Director Philippe Lazzarini on X revealed the possibility of UNRWA activity cessation due to funding being stopped. According to him, UNRWA's operation, upon which 2 million people in Gaza are dependent, is doomed to fail. Lazzarini showed some shock towards the temporary funding suspension.

Israel's allegation should be followed by legal process. And it should not make countries stop or suspend funding to UNRWA.

This does not only affect UNRWA, but also the Palestinians suffering from the war.

UNRWA was founded based on the UN General Assembly Resolution 302 on December 8, 1949 to carry out direct support and working programs for Palestinian refugees.

Because there is no solution to Palestinian refugee issue, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly renewed the UNRWA mandate. Along with the war between Hamas and Israel broke in October, this UN agency is highly needed.

It would be "regrettable" if the support for the severely suffering war victims was forced to stop because of the stopped funding.

The 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Encourages Peace in Palestine

2024-01-22T18:11:24+07:00

The Non-Aligned Movement under the chairmanship of Uganda held its 19th Summit in Kampala, Uganda on January 19-20, 2024 on "Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence". The summit was attended by 121 member countries as well as some other countries and international organizations such as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The summit resulted in four documents, including the Non-Aligned Movement Political Declaration that encouraged the peace realization in Palestine.

Guterres on Saturday said the destruction in Gaza had never happened before, and all must recognize the rights of Palestinians to own a country.

According to the U.N. Secretary-General, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, as well as the rejection of the right to belong to a country for Palestinians were unacceptable. These rejections would escalate the ongoing conflict into a big threat to global peace and security, worsen polarization, and strengthen extremism everywhere.

Guterres said currently the people of Gaza were dying not only from bombs and bullets but also lack of food and clean water. Besides, hospitals do not have medicine and electricity is out.

The U.N. Secretary-General saw a vivid convergence between the UN Charter principles and the Non-Aligned Movement principles in the Bandung Principles. The two stated support for world peace
and cooperation. He then affirmed that the Non-Aligned Movement Summit played an important role in the UN, mainly to fight for the people of Palestine.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pahala Mansury who led Indonesian delegates at the summit asked the non-aligned to unite, push for a ceasefire in Gaza, and encourage a peace process and Palestine's full membership in the UN.

Pahala Mansury said the Non-Aligned Movement is a giant of political power, with 121 member countries and more than 55 percent of the world's population. With such a power, Mansury said, the Non-Aligned Movement must be able to change the world order to show more justice for all.

The Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Uganda was one of the efforts by nations in the world, including Indonesia to encourage peace in Palestine. Currently, there are at least 5 members of the
movement who are non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely Gabon, Ghana, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Kenya. They were expected to help voice the joint position of the Non-Aligned Movement about Palestine.

The Non-Aligned Movement members in the UN Security Council, even with the Political Declaration which urges for peace realization in Palestine, should be able to stop violence, to realize a two-state solution, and to create peace in Palestine.

Lai Ching-te's Victory and Taiwan's Future

2024-01-15T23:38:21+07:00

Taiwanese presidential candidate from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai Ching-te won the Taiwanese general election on Saturday (14/01/2024). Lai defeated his rival Hu Yu-ih from the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang with more than 900,000 votes. Lai will be inaugurated along with his vice president Hsiao Bi-khim on May 20.

In his victory speech, Lai thanked the voters for rejecting to be influenced by the "external power" that attempted to affect the election. Lai said he wants to join hands with China as the biggest trade partner for Taiwan, while at the same time preserving peace and stability. However, he also promised not to fear China's aggressive attitude and would keep Taiwan from China's threat and intimidation.

After the election result was announced, Taiwan got greetings from the U.S. and U.K., congratulating Lai's win. Meanwhile, Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China, stated that the election will not stop the inevitable unification trend. Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson in Beijing, Chen Binhua said the voting will not change the basic landscape and development trend of inter-strait relations between mainland China and Taiwan. He also affirmed Beijing's consistency in realizing national reunification.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to keep monitoring the development in Taiwan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lalu Muhammad Iqbal in a press release in Jakarta on Sunday (14/01/2024) said Indonesia is observing the development in Taiwan carefully. Until now, Indonesia has consistently respected the One-China Policy as determined by the United Nations. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Taiwan is one of the most important trade partners for Indonesia.

The intention of Lai Ching-te to cooperate with China as Taiwan's biggest trade partner was expected to defuse tension and maintain stability between the two. After all, Taiwan's important role in the global economy cannot be ignored. The Taiwan Strait is one of the most important maritime trade routes in the world. Taiwan was also known as a big technology producer, especially semiconductors used in various sophisticated products - starting from smartphones and missile systems.

Indonesia's Contribution to Afghan Education Invites Global Interests

2023-12-28T22:00:56+07:00

VOINews.id, Jakarta: Indonesia continues to encourage steps to providing assistance to the Afghan people, especially through scholarships for Afghan women and girls. Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said that in terms of assistance to Afghan women, Indonesia should not only convey its position but also implement it.

"Every now and then, we talk about the issue of our assistance to the people of Afghanistan, especially in terms of education for women and we walk the talk in the sense that we don't just convey a position but we try our best to carry it out," she said in a statement delivered in Jakarta on Wednesday (27/12/2023).

Retno Marsudi explained that although the number is still limited, Indonesia has started accepting a number of educational scholarship recipients from Afghanistan at a number of universities in the country. According to him, this has invited similar interest from a number of countries to contribute together with Indonesia in providing educational scholarships for Afghan women and girls.

"At least we have received offers to collaborate from Norway and the Netherlands. And most recently, Japan has started to contact Indonesia to also contribute in providing scholarships, especially for Afghan women and girls," he said.

Retno Marsudi further explained that the educational scholarships given to Afghan students were not only intended for female students. Indonesia also opens scholarship opportunities for male Afghan students because according to Retno, education is a basic right for all people, both women and men.

"We don't only give scholarships to women because education is for all, therefore there are always men who take part in the scholarships offered by Indonesia," he concluded.

Iranian Music Group Farhang Performs on VOI: Promotes Peace and Freedom

2023-12-25T08:54:19+07:00

VOINews.id, Jakarta: Farhang, a famous traditional music group from Iran, shares musical experiences with RRI Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta on Sunday (24/12/2023). One of the Farhang Ensemble musicians, Pouria Behtouei, said the music they performed on various occasions always promoted peace and freedom.

"We always bring a message of peace and freedom in our music wherever we perform, because that is also the message brought by Iranian musical art," said Pouria Behtouei.

Pouria Behtouei, who plays the Santur instrument, explained that young people in Iran are exposed to traditional music through various means. According to him, the Iranian government provides facilities and convenience for young Iranians to learn the art of music.

“We have workshops for parents to get to know Iranian art. Iran also has music schools and many music professors there. Iranian youth are very interested in traditional Persian music and we have confidence in the future of Iranian youth,” he said.

He also saw a very good opportunity in the potential for collaboration between Iranian traditional music and various musical genres in the world.

"With good musical skills, Western and Eastern musical arts can produce good collaboration," he said.

Farhang has performed traditional Iranian musical works in various parts of the world. Pouria Behtouei hopes that their performance can enrich the musical arts treasures of the world community and that Iranian arts can be further recognized by the global community.

“We hope that Iran's musical traditions can become ambassadors for peace and friendship throughout the world. To show the richness of our culture to others. "We hope that the world community can get to know Iranian art better," he said.

The music group Farhang was founded by Hossein Yazdi in 2008, who plays his compositions and the works of others. Farhang members consist of Hossein Yazdi (spear), Ali Hossein (ney), Mahdi Shafiabadi (setar and vocals), and Pouria Behtouei (santur). The ensemble includes some of the best virtuoso instrumentalists in Iran who have performed at major festivals around the world and have many recordings to their credit.

Indonesia and Malaysia want better cooperation on films

2018-01-06T11:02:56+07:00