REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By: Otjih S *)
A call for the banning of Israeli products produced in the occupied territories conveyed during the 5th Extraordinary Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif in Jakarta last week has raised a question about whether OIC member countries, especially Indonesia, can really implement the recommendation.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman for trade, Benny Soetrisno, said banning Israeli products was technically possible because the state of origin of imports must be reported in the imported goods documents. A country of origin status is declared by the World Trade Organization [WTO]. Technically, the mandatory declaration of the country of origin in every imported goods document has made it is possible for Indonesia to ban Israeli products. It is also possible for Israel to do the same thing to Indonesian products.
Banning Israeli products is reportedly getting more difficult if it is related to technological products. It has been reported that several operators are now using some programs procured from Israeli vendors. Their choice is simply based on economic calculations, in which they deemed that the telecommunications programs offered were the best in the market. Still, that does not mean there are no substitutes for the Israeli products. There are vendors from other countries producing similar products.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had been called on all Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries to unite in an effort to carry out reconciliation in Palestine. The President reminded that the OIC was established to support the struggle of the Palestinian people. The OIC has to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem, he went on. Jokowi made the call in his remarks during the OIC Extraordinary Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
President Jokowi quoted the late president Sukarno, who asserted that as long as Palestine had not achieved its independence, Indonesia would continue to fight against Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The President further said the world was apprehensive about the worsening situation in Palestine. There are many illegal and unilateral policies there, and Israel’s collective punishment has caused greater difficulties for the Palestinian people, he went on. Jokowi also expressed his concern about the limited access of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He said the Palestinian people were becoming more powerless, adding that the humanitarian situation in occupied territories has continued to worsen. “We must jointly face the situation; we have to fight it together. For the struggle, unity is needed. We have to unite, Palestine must unite, Palestine must carry out reconciliation. Indonesia is ready to help the reconciliation process,” said Jokowi.
Must be prudent
The people of Indonesia must be interpretated that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had called to ban Israeli products in the contact of Israeli policies toward Palestine. Jokowi statement is a political statement, so President Jokowi stated that the boycott was against Israeli policies, not of its goods. So, a ban on Israeli products is really not much and would not hurt the Israeli at all, and it one would affect Indonesia more than it would affect Israel.
The EU in June 2013 published "guidelines" for its member nations saying that it would not confer grants, scholarships, prizes, or financial loans on Israeli entities operating outside the so-called Green Line (the 1949 armistice lines), including east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. But until now, Israeli always exist.
It should be recognized that the outcome of extraordinary OIC summit in Jakarta tend to blame Israeli illegal occupation in West Bank, Height Goland, and Jerussalem. It must be understood that those outcome in the meaning of political pressure to Israeli to stop their illegally occupation on Palestine territory which undergo since 1967.
As far as, Jokowi’s urges to call to ban or Israeli boycott wouldn’t take with same policies from the state of OIC’s member. In these context, every OIC’s member has their national interest related with Israel, and OIC’s member must be prioritized their safety of national interest at first. In fact, every stakeholder in Palestine isn’t unite to struggle against Israeli’s occupation in their lands.
Meanwhile, in domestically, some stakeholder in Indonesia had been had hope with the bravery of Jokowi to challenge Israeli’s illegal occupation in Palestine’s territory. Therefore, government apparatus must be anticipated the impact of Jokowi’s statement internally and externally, because I think sooner or later Israel will be made some of secret operation using their colleagues and their allience.
*) The writer is a national and international news observer.
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