Indonesia's Strong Position Help Palestinian Independence

TEHRAN, Iran, Feb 22 (Antara) - The strong position of Indonesia in international forums and organizations will strengthen the country's support and assistance for the Palestinian people's independence from the Israeli occupation, an envoy stated. Indonesian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Octavino Alimudin told Antara here on Tuesday. "To support the struggle of the Palestinian people, we always take advantages a variety of forums to always reinforce the presence of Indonesia at the international arena," the Ambassador said. According to him, the inauguration of the first Honorary Consulate of Indonesia in Ramallah, Palestine in 2016, is one step in strengthening the position of Indonesia at international level and also indicates Indonesia's interest in the Palestinian independence. On March 14, 2016, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L.P. Marsudi inaugurated the first Honorary Consul of Indonesia for Palestine Maha Abu-Shusheh based in Ramallah. The Honorary Consul of Indonesia in Ramallah serves and protects Indonesian citizens and legal entities, and increases economic and socio-cultural cooperation between the two countries. The Indonesian Honorary Consul in Ramallah is the first honorary consul of the 41 embassies and foreign consuls in Ramallah, while other foreign honorary consuls in Palestine are located in Bethlehem. Responding to the possibility of Indonesia to mediate reconciliation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the ambassador said that the two sides should be viewed as two entities, in which Indonesia always stands to support the Palestinians and never justifies the Israeli occupation over the Palestinians. "The Palestinian independence struggle requires solid support, especially from Muslim countries in the world," said the ambassador, adding that the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada organized by the government of Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran on February 21-22, 2017 is expected to generate more real recommendations for the settlement of the Palestinian issue.