Indonesian peacekeepers’ deaths spur calls for Middle East exit plan

UN peacekeepers with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon drive past firefighters clearing the road at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike in Naqura in southern Lebanon last week.

Photo: AFP The killing of three Indonesian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon is a stern test of Jakarta’s Middle East policy, with analysts saying the incident has raised questions over the risks of overseas deployment in Gaza and the region, as well as limits to global accountability.

Several Indonesian lawmakers and observers said the deaths had exposed how little protection diplomatic positions could offer during a spiralling conflict, arguing that Jakarta should reassess its role in Lebanon and involvement in new US-backed initiatives tied to the region.

Indonesia is under pressure to intensify diplomatic efforts and push for accountability from Israel following the fatal attacks on Sunday and Monday, which also injured five others.

The incidents also prompted calls to evaluate Indonesia’s membership in the Donald Trump-led Board of Peace, of which Israel is also a member, as well as the plan to send thousands of soldiers to war-torn Gaza to participate in the US-led International Stabilisation Force.

On Tuesday, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “condemns in the strongest terms” the attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which “reflect a rapidly deteriorating security environment in southern Lebanon, where ongoing Israeli military operations have placed UN peacekeepers at grave risk”. “The recurrence of such heinous attacks against Indonesian peacekeepers within a short span of time is utterly unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement. “Indonesia calls for an immediate, thorough, and transparent investigation to establish the facts, including the circumstances and those responsible, and stresses that full accountability must follow.” People offer condolences for Farizal Rhomadhon, a UN Interim Force in Lebanon peacekeeper killed in a strike on Sunday in southern Lebanon, at his parents’ house in Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

Photo: Reuters Chief Private Farizal Rhomadhon was killed on Sunday by “indirect artillery fire”, which happened in the vicinity of the Indonesian Blue Helmets’ base near Adchit Al Qusayr, the ministry said on Monday.

Rico Ricardo Sirait, a spokesman with the ministry, said that three Indonesian peacekeepers were injured in the attack, one of whom was severely injured.

Isr

原文链接: 南华早报