REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Not long ago social media was flooded with a video of a group of people joining an assembly carrying Israeli flags in the city of Bitung, North Sulawesi. As is known, there was a clash between a Palestinian militant mob and an Israeli flag-bearer in the town of Bitung.
Chairman of the Graduate Program in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (KTTI) of the University of Indonesia (UI) Yon Machmudi said that Indonesia has the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Permenlu) Regulation No. 3 of 2019 on Foreign Relations By Local Governments. In Permenlu it is forbidden or does not allow the flying of the Israeli flag.
“(It is forbidden) to sing the Israeli national anthem or its symbols, so if we do not recognize Israel as a state, those acts (raising the Israeli flag) are illegal actions, they (the raising of the Israeli flag) should not take place on the territory of NKRI,” Yon told Republika.co.id after the Peacemaker Forum 2023 talk show of the Palestinian Solidarity Month (BSP) 2023 in the framework of the International Day of Solidarity for Palestine on the campus of the University of Indonesia (UI) Salemba, Wednesday (29/11/2023)
Yon said that the rule of Permenlu Number 3 of 2019 and Indonesia's position against colonization should be appreciated by the Indonesian people. The Indonesian people must understand that Indonesia does not recognize the existence of the state of Israel.
Yon said that another story is that Indonesia has relations with Israel. However, under the current conditions, the Indonesian people are not allowed by law to fly the Israeli flag and express slogans of support for Israel.
“Because our position (Indonesia) is not to provide support (to Israel) or (have) formal relations with the state of Israel,” Yon said.
As a result of clashes between Palestinian mobs and Israeli flag-carrying mobs in the town of Bitung, several suspects have been arrested by police. Because of the clashes resulted in one person dying and several people being injured.
Responding to the events, figures from several religions and local authorities have made efforts to reconcile the situation and conditions in the town of Bitung. Muhammadiyah deplores the violence in Bitung.
All parties should be able to restrain themselves. The Israeli-Palestinian war is a two-state problem that should not cause excesses within the country, let alone to the point of causing a division of the nation.
The government and the security apparatus, especially the police, should act quickly by investigating and cracking down decisively on anyone who masterminded the violence.
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