from the Jakarta Post, 10 June 2007

JAKARTA (Antara): Chairman of the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nurwahid urged Indonesia to adopt a firmer stance in supporting the independence of Palestine which had suffered clear subjugation of Israel.

“The Israeli invasion of Palestine is an overt subjugation. Therefore, the Indonesian people must defend Palestine. We also appeal to the Palestinian people to unite in fighting against Israel. They should not fight each other with Hamas,” he said.

The MPR chairman made the statements during a solidarity action held by thousands of people at the Monas (National Monument) Square to mark 40 years of the Israeli occupation of Palestine here on Sunday.

Nurwahid said that the Indonesian government must take the lead in the front-line in supporting Palestinian independence from the occupation of Israel.

A concrete action by the Indonesian government in supporting the Palestinian independence would help revive the trust of Muslim communities after Indonesia supported a UN resolution on Iran.

He said that if the international communities were willing to crush terrorists, they should first liberate the Palestinian people. If the people of Palestine were liberated, it would meant that one-third of terrorist problems in the world would have been settled.

“We must start from right now. The key to exterminating terrorists is how the world helps Palestine stay as an independent state,” Hidayat said.