The Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Indonesia (UI) held a seminar “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian” at the Juwono Sudarsono Auditorium, UI Depok Campus, on Wednesday (29/11). This activity was carried out in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity for the Palestinian People which was established by the United Nations (UN) in 1979, in accordance with the mandate contained in the General Assembly Resolution and other resolutions on the discussion agenda of the “Question of Palestine”.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention and remind the world community of the fact that the Palestinian problem has not been resolved. “This also confirms that the ‘Question of Palestine’ is a political issue, or an independence issue, and not a religious issue. It is important for us to understand that the International Day of Solidarity for the Palestinian People belongs to all countries, nations, and religions on earth,” said Prof. Dr. Semiarto Aji Purwanto, Dean of FISIP UI.
As the keynote speaker in this seminar, the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia H.E Zuhair Al Shun said that to this day, the Palestinian people have not had their human rights as defined by the UN General Assembly, namely the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, as well as the right to return to their homes from their current refuge. This is also in line with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution which firmly states that independence is the right of all nations and therefore colonialism must be abolished.
According to Zuhair Al Shun, this day of solidarity was held because of the absence of the role of international security. He also explained the long history between Palestine and Israel. In the current situation, where Israel’s attacks on Gaza and various violence against the West Bank population are carried out on a massive and structured basis, solidarity with the Palestinian people has become more important and meaningful. The impact of Israel’s militaristic and political activities under the leadership of a right-wing government has made the lives of the Palestinian people extremely persecuted.
In a broader context, Prof. Aji said that committing violence, especially excessively, is a denial of the right to life. “Favoring the right to life is a fundamental value that anyone needs to fight for. This means that the solidarity and alignment that we provide is solidarity and alignment with human values,” said Prof. Aji. He added that this spirit of international solidarity has also become part of Indonesia’s identity in the political arena and interactions between nations in the world. Even though the geographical distance between Indonesia and Palestine is quite far, Indonesia consistently and continuously shows deep solidarity with the Palestinian people.
At the end of the event, the Department of International Relations at FISIP UI also made donations for the Palestinian people, which had been collected from the FISIP UI academic community and alumni with a total of IDR 115,000,000. Zuhair also expressed his gratitude to Indonesia for always supporting and helping Palestine, “I am very grateful to the Indonesian people who have supported, helped, and prayed for Palestine.”
