[Kabar-indonesia] Beirut doesn't need outside fighters: says Lebanese envoy

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also: Volunteers sign up to fight Israel

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, August 12, 2006

Beirut doesn't need outside fighters: says Lebanese envoy

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It looks like angry Indonesian Muslim youths will have to give up their 
ambitions of traveling to Lebanon to fight Israel as the Lebanese ambassador to 
Indonesia has asserted that his country does not need fighters from other 
countries, including Indonesia.

"We don't need fighters from other countries as we can handle it ourselves. 
What we need is moral support from them," Lebanese Ambassador Hassan Muslimani 
told a press conference Friday with the Syrian, Iranian and Palestinian 
ambassadors on the Middle East conflict at Muhammadiyah office in Jakarta.

The Indonesian Mujahidin Council said Friday it would screen suitable 
candidates from 720 volunteers who had signed up to travel to the Middle East to 
fight Israel, and that it would give them basic training.

Muslimani said that peace could only be achieved if there was an immediate 
cease-fire and withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon as soon as possible.

"Without Israel's withdrawal, there will be no peace," Muslimani said.

He said that the international community should not separate the Lebanese 
people from Hizbollah as the latter was part of the Lebanese people and the 
government, adding that attacking Hizbollah was tantamount to attacking the 
Lebanese people.

"Two people from Hizbollah are members of the current Cabinet. So, they are 
part of the Lebanese people," Muslimani said.

The statement seemed to be directed at the U.S, which has repeatedly demanded 
that the Lebanese government disarm Hizbollah to secure a cease-fire 
agreement.

Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Behruz Kamalvandi said the root of the Middle 
East problem was the illegal establishment of an Israeli state with an 
unclear border.

"Because of the unclear border, Israel can expand its territory wherever it 
likes. The world must address this problem if peace in the Middle East is to be 
achieved," he said.

Kamalvandi slammed the U.S.' unreserved support for Israel, saying that the 
country was abusing all tools in the United Nations to support Israeli 
aggression.

"The world must call for an end to Israeli aggression. We must find a 
solution that can be accepted by Palestinians and Lebanese," Kamalvandi said.

Syrian Ambassador Mohamad Darwish Baladi also criticized the U.S. for its 
support of Israel, saying that the country had used its veto 40 times in efforts 
to support the Jewish state.

"The Syrian government will continue to accept Lebanese refugees. Besides a 
cease-fire and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, an investigation into war 
crimes committed by Israel and rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure in Lebanon 
are the key requirements for peace in the region," he said.

Palestinian Ambassador Fariz Nafe Mehdawi warned Israel that no matter how 
huge its military might was, the Jewish state would not be able to defeat the 
Lebanese and Palestinian people.

"Equality is the key point here. If Israel is interested in peace then they 
have to respect UN resolutions. The problem is they have not abided by UN 
resolutions since 1967," he said.

While refuting that the military could solve the problem, Mehdawi proposed 
that all parties sit together to seek a peaceful settlement to the Middle East 
conflict. 

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The Jakarta Post
Saturday, August 12, 2006
    
Volunteers sign up to fight Israel

Police might have vowed to prevent citizens from leaving for Lebanon but at 
least 150 people registered to join a declared jihad against Israel at the 
Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) office in Surakarta, Central Java on Friday.

One of the fighters, Mohammad Arif, a 35-year-old native of Surakarta, said 
he was ready to fight alongside the Palestine people against Israel.

"I feel that I'm being called to fight there. This war has insulted my pride 
as a Muslim," said the man who has no skill in weaponry or fighting.

The fighters said they would ask the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the 
National Police Headquarters to train them to use weapons (see photo).

"If they (TNI and the police) don't want to train us, we will be trained by 
Ambon and Poso war veterans," claimed Adi Basuki, who helped set up the post, 
referring to conflict-torn cities Ambon in Maluku and Poso in Central Sulawesi.

Adi, who is also the spokesman for MMI Surakarta, expressed hope the 
government would facilitate their mission in the Middle East. "Although we've raised 
our own funds, we hope the government will assist us," he told The Jakarta Post.

Adi said the MMI had opened five registration posts for those wanting to 
fight in Lebanon. Apart from Surakarta, the registration is open in Surabaya, 
Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Padang. Those who register, he said, would be selected for 
training in Yogyakarta before being sent to war.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Tuesday that the 
police would stop volunteers wanting to go to Lebanon, saying it would only 
worsen the situation there and it was prohibited by the state.

"Their departure for the Middle East would be a violation of our state 
Constitution, which says that Indonesia should proactively contribute to world 
peace," he was quoted as saying by AFP. "The volunteers' departure is certainly not 
contributing to peace and therefore is a violation of the Constitution." 
(JP/Blontank Poer) 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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