President Prabowo Subianto’s Special Envoy and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anis Matta, has called for better cooperation between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League and countries of the Global South in an effort to boost international support for Palestine.
“The OIC and the Arab League must boost international support for Palestine, by working towards better cooperation with the Global South,” Anis Matta told the Preparatory Meeting for the Extraordinary Summit of the OIC and the Arab League in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, November 10, 2024.
Anis Matta, who led the Indonesian delegation to the Preparatory OIC-Arab League meeting, underlined the history of Global South countries, which are dominantly former colonies and gained independent through armed struggle.
“This similarity in fate and history is an important point in gathering more support from the Global South,” he said.
The Indonesian delegation conveyed a number of inputs, such as the need for the OIC to devise more concrete action, and not just negotiate on the declaration.
“Indonesia’s commitment to Palestinian struggle will never fade, because we know how painful it is to be a colonized nation,” Anis Matta said during the meeting.
Double standard
The Indonesian deputy foreign minister also criticized the double standards applied by many countries towards Palestine.
“Such parctices of double standards must be stopped immediately as they damage the international order and undermine the promotion of human rights,” he said.
“Independence is an inalienable right so the struggle for Palestinian independence must be supported by all countries. The OIC and the Arab League must mobilize the Muslim World and global community to support Palestine,” he added.
Anis Matta also called on the international community to understand the potential of the global Muslim community.
“Western countries must cooperate with the world’s approximately 2 billion Muslim population, because it will bring more common prosperity, rather than continuing to support Zionist desires,” he said.
