Media Review: Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances

Media Review: Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances

    Monday, November 18, 2024   No comments

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed his country's full commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people in various international forums, stressing that Malaysia will not recognize the occupation entity under any circumstances.

Ibrahim indicated - in an interview with Aljazeera Mubasher - that he was subjected to great pressure due to his declared positions against Israel, but he stressed that his country will continue this approach without change.

In the context of his speech, the Malaysian Prime Minister likened the path of the former heads of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, to the path of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, who struggled to liberate his country from the apartheid regime.

Ibrahim called for the necessity of expelling Israel from the United Nations, noting that Malaysia is currently working on a draft resolution to submit to the United Nations General Assembly in light of the continued Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, including targeting civilians and hospitals. Malaysia has also submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to hold Israel accountable for its crimes in the Gaza Strip, stressing that it will continue its legal and diplomatic efforts in all regional and international forums.

Ibrahim said, "We have not left any international or regional forum without raising our voices loudly in it to support the rights of the Palestinian people and establish their independent state and work to end their tragedy."

Malaysia's Position

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, Ibrahim expressed his country's support for Palestine to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but noted that they "did not listen."

The prime minister accused these countries of colluding with Israel by remaining silent on the ongoing crimes in the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories since October 7, 2023. He wrote on the "X" platform that the West "continues to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Israel, which makes it a de facto partner in these crimes against humanity."

Ibrahim stressed that his country continues to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, including treating wounded women and children in Malaysian hospitals. He also praised the role played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in providing humanitarian relief, noting that Malaysia will continue to support its activities in the sector.

At the end of his speech, the Malaysian prime minister sent a message of solidarity to the Palestinian and Lebanese people, calling on them to stand firm in the face of challenges. "Stand firm, we are with you, we support you and we pray for your victory," he said.

In December 2023, Malaysia announced a ban on ships flying the Israeli flag and preventing ships heading to Israel from loading goods at its ports. The government explained that these measures come in response to Israel's continued violations of international law and humanitarian principles.

This position comes after a similar one was declared by Saudi Arabia, which stated that "normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is not on the table until the "two-state solution" is achieved and a Palestinian state is established.

Indonesia and China relations: Prabowo visits Beijing for first state visit, as Singapore connects its economy to China

Indonesia and China relations: Prabowo visits Beijing for first state visit, as Singapore connects its economy to China

    Friday, November 08, 2024   No comments

At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Prabowo will pay a state visit to China from Friday to Sunday. President Xi will hold a welcoming ceremony for him, and the two heads of state will hold talks. Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, will meet with him respectively, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport, China, at 6:25 p.m. local time on Friday for his inaugural state visit, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Accompanied by his son, Didit Hediprasetyo, Prabowo disembarked from the Boeing 737-700 BBJ presidential aircraft and was greeted with a guard of honor performed by the People’s Liberation Army. A young girl then presented the Indonesian head of state with flowers.

Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Jun, received Prabowo and his officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, at the airport.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, said earlier that Prabowo's decision to choose China as the first stop on his inaugural overseas tour reflects the importance of Indonesia-China bilateral ties.

Another neighbor to China, and significant Muslim influence, Singapore, is also strengthening relations with China. The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) organized the 7th Singapore-China Trade and Investment Forum (SCTIF) in Shanghai on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE), with 15 memorandums of understanding valued at more than S$60 million ($45.26 million) signed, setting the stage for new growth opportunities and strengthening bilateral partnerships. 

Macron to Netanyahu: Defending civilization is not about sowing barbarism

Macron to Netanyahu: Defending civilization is not about sowing barbarism

    Saturday, October 26, 2024   No comments

10/25/2024 : French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's description of the war on Gaza and Lebanon as a "war of civilization," saying that "defending civilization is not done by sowing barbarism."

The tension between Netanyahu and Macron continues to escalate after the latter called for an arms embargo on Israel.

In a speech he delivered in Paris during the opening of the international conference in support of the people and sovereignty of Lebanon, on Thursday, Macron responded to Netanyahu's description of the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon as a "war of civilization against barbarism."

Macron said: "Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the war of civilizations or civilizations that must be defended, but I do not believe that civilization is defended by sowing barbarism."

In an interview with French media on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that "Israel is waging a war of civilization against barbarism."

He continued: "We are not only fighting for ourselves, but for you as well."

Previously, Macron called on Israel to stop killing Gaza's women and babies.

Related, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, warned the world of a "big fire, after losing its humanity by ignoring the conflicts in the Middle East." Borrell said that "the world is on the brink of a big fire, and as long as the war continues in Gaza and Lebanon, we will remain on the edge of a spark that ignites a bigger fire."

Borrell's statement came to the Spanish radio "RNE", commenting on the genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip for more than a year, and its aggression on Lebanon since September 23. The European official pointed out that the United Nations confirms that the Gaza Strip is witnessing the most violent and dangerous humanitarian crisis the world has witnessed since World War II. Borrell added, "What is happening in the Middle East shows that we have lost our humanity."

An Arab country with a peace treaty with Israel just blasted the government of Israel for statements made by one of its ministers. Jordan condemned, the extremist efforts of the Israeli government to change the status of the occupied Palestinian territories, the latest of which was the call by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to apply Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday evening (Oct. 27), Smotrich called during a conference held in occupied Jerusalem to apply Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

He said in a video clip he shared on Monday via the "X" platform that "the land division agreements did not succeed and will not succeed, simply because they want the whole country," referring to the Palestinians.

He added that "Palestinians who agree to adopt the decision (annexing the West Bank and Gaza) will be granted the benefits of Israeli citizens," and "whoever refuses this will be displaced, and whoever refuses both will be treated as a terrorist."

In response, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it "condemns in the strongest terms the extremist racist provocative statements made by Smotrich, calling for the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories, expanding settlements therein, and displacing Palestinians from them."

The ministry considered these statements "a flagrant violation of international law and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

It stressed "the Kingdom's rejection and condemnation of these provocative settlement calls, in a blatant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334, which condemns all Israeli measures aimed at changing the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem."

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stressed that "the racist ideology evident in the statements of the Israeli Finance Minister is an extension of the extremist policy of the Israeli government, which continues its aggression on Gaza, besieges the northern part of the Strip and prevents the entry of food and medicine to its residents in an attempt to displace them from their homes."

 [This news story was update to include related developments]

Indonesia's new government is introduced with emphasis on diplomaticy

Indonesia's new government is introduced with emphasis on diplomaticy

    Wednesday, October 23, 2024   No comments

With President Prabowo inaugurating 48 cabinet ministers in his new government, the Indonesian foreign ministry, the country's agency responsible for connecting Indonesia to the world, will be run head by Sugiono and bolstered by three deputy foreign ministers--Anis Matta, Arrmanatha Nasir, and Arif Havas. 

Anis Matta, who is tasked with handling Indonesian diplomacy with the Islamic world, said that the Palestine issue would be his main focus.

"We have a Constitutional mandate to help Palestine's independence, and I think all our efforts as the Indonesian nation—both political diplomacy and humanity—will be demonstrated to help Palestine's independence," he said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"The war in Palestine will be a game changer. The final result of this war will change the constellation not only in the Middle East but at the global level," he added.

President Prabowo Subianto officially appointed Sugiono, the deputy chairperson of the Gerindra Party, as Indonesia's new foreign minister, replacing Retno Marsudi.

Imran Khan's party's presence in parliament gains strength months after the elections

Imran Khan's party's presence in parliament gains strength months after the elections

    Friday, July 12, 2024   No comments

Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan is eligible for 23 additional seats in parliament, adding pressure on the country's weak coalition government.

Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party ran as independents in the Feb. 8 election after being barred from taking part, and won the most seats, but the Election Commission said independents were ineligible for the 70 seats reserved for political parties only.

On Feb. 20, two major parties, the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), announced they had reached a power-sharing deal that would return Shehbaz Sharif to the premiership after this month's election failed to produce a clear winner.

The committee ordered the reserved seats to be distributed to other parties, most of which belonged to the ruling coalition parties.

The reallocation of the 23 reserved seats does not affect the parliamentary majority of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, but the decision strengthens the political position of Khan’s supporters, who have accused the Election Commission and the interim government that oversaw the elections of rigging the elections to deny them victory.

Under Pakistani electoral rules, 70 seats are allocated to parties, 60 to women and 10 to non-Muslims, in proportion to the number of seats won by each party. This brings the total number of seats in the National Assembly to 336.

Khan was ousted from power in 2022 after falling out with the country’s powerful military leaders, while the military denies interfering in the country’s politics.

It is noteworthy that Imran Khan has been behind bars since August 2023, after he was arrested by the police, as he faces long sentences on corruption charges, but he says there are political motives behind the charges, aimed at removing him from power.

Iran’s elections: Change brings new opportunities for Iran's new president--Masoud Pezeshkian

Iran’s elections: Change brings new opportunities for Iran's new president--Masoud Pezeshkian

    Saturday, July 06, 2024   No comments

Foreground:

Mere weeks after the tragic death of several Iranian officials including the president, Iran managed to elect a new president, while a caretaker government was headed by the vice president. The successful transition is only part of the story in a country with complex social fabric and complex relations with the world. What might be lost on many observers is the historical election of a president who represents ethnic and linguistic minorities in Iran.

Masoud Pezeshkian, born in 1954 in the city of Mahabad in West Azerbaijan Province, northeastern Iran to a deeply religious Shia family to parents of both Kurdish and Azeri background. He was raised in a religious family. He often speaks of being proud Turkish speaker. Now that he is elected president of Iran, he will be the first ethnic minority office holder in a region where Kurdish minorities are marginalized in all four countries-Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. 

Being from Azerbaijan Province, he will be able to dial down the rhetoric among Azeris who are Shia in terms of faith but Turkic in terms of ethnicity. Having family connections to the Kurdish community, he will also be able to address the separatist activities with which all four countries have struggled since the end of direct colonial control of the region. His political activism in the movement that brought about the modern Islamic republic of Iran provide him with the credibility to work out change through the various institutions of power. In short, this election cycle might be as significant of a turning point as the one that took place 1981 when another Iranian president, Mohammad Ali Rajaʾi, was killed, and who was replaced Ali Khamenei, the current supreme leader.

Background: 

Pezeshkian completed his primary education in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province, and then joined the Agricultural Institute in Urmia, where he received a diploma in food industries.

 

He completed his military service in 1973 in the border city of Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and after completing his service, he decided to become a doctor, and received his natural diploma in 1975. A year later, he was accepted into the medical field at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.

 

With the start of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, Pezeshkian was responsible for sending medical teams to the battlefronts, and was active in many operations as a fighter and a doctor.

 

He completed his medical course in 1985, and began working at the Faculty of Medicine as a physiology teacher. In 1990, he received a specialty in general surgery from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, and in 1993 he received a specialty in cardiac surgery from Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and was appointed to Shahid Madani Heart Hospital in Tabriz, and later became its head.

  

In 1994, he was appointed as the head of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, and his presidency continued until 2000. Then he was transferred to Tehran and assumed the position of Deputy Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education for 6 months.

 

After that, in the second term of Mr. Mohammad Khatami's presidency, Pezeshkian assumed the position of Minister of Health, and after a while he was questioned by the parliament, and then he left his position. In 2013, he ran for president, but his candidacy was rejected by the Guardian Council. In 2016, he won a seat in the parliament and held a seat in parliament for many years. Since 2008, Pezeshkian has represented the city of Tabriz in the Iranian parliament.

 Pezeshkian believes that Iran's internal problems cannot be solved without solving problems with the outside world, and stresses that the country's management is based on constructive engagement with the world on the basis of dialogue and negotiation with various countries.

 Pezeshkian also calls for improving relations between Iran and Western countries, especially the United States, based on the three pillars of "dignity, wisdom, and interest."

 

He announced that he will put at the top of his government's priorities the revival of the nuclear agreement, which is in Iran's interest, and if it were not, former US President Donald Trump would not have withdrawn from it.

 Pezeshkian believes that it is in Iran's interest to join the "FATF" (Financial Action Task Force) in order to develop and facilitate trade with other countries.

 

Pezeshkian stressed that he will put an end to the differences between political forces, which he says are the "main cause of the country's problems," by seeking the help of the best experts and specialists.

 

He promised that he would follow up on the problems of workers, retirees and employees and work in a way that eliminates poverty, discrimination and corruption in the country, stressing the need to deal honestly with the public and not give empty promises, promising to involve the people in running the country and not a specific group.

 

He also promised to deal positively with women's issues, freedom of access to the Internet, constitutional rights of nationalities, and political and social freedoms.

 

Pezeshkian won the Iranian presidential elections after receiving 16,384,403 votes, compared to 13,538,179 votes for candidate Saeed Jalili, thus becoming the ninth elected president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini in 1979.