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New York.
Indonesia is lobbying other countries to support the Palestinian bid for
membership in the United Nations, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on
Tuesday.
“We will
seek any opportunity to ensure that Palestine’s bid for UN membership, if that
is what the Palestinians really want, gets international support,” he said after
meeting with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov at the UN General
Assembly.
Marty
emphasized cooperation with Kazakhstan through the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, of which both countries belong.
In a
bilateral meeting with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas, he also said
Indonesia has always encouraged a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian
problem.
Marty is
scheduled to meet with ministers of the UN Palestinian committee on Thursday.
He will meet with ministers of the OIC on Friday.
That same
day, Palestine will formally apply for UN membership, despite US opposition.
After receiving Palestine’s application, the UN secretary general will study it
and send it to the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
The
Security Council must approve the application with a resolution. If nine of its
15 members support it, and if nobody vetoes it, the application will pass.
If that
happens, the General Assembly, now consisting of 193 member countries, will
examine the Security Council’s recommendations. Members will then conduct their
own vote to pass or deny the application.
Palestine
will face its biggest obstacle at the Security Council level, since the United
States — Israel’s strong ally — is one of the council members.
The US
government has promised to use its veto power to stop the bid because it
believes a Palestinian state can be established through negotiations.
Given the
US threat, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has hinted at some flexibility.
He suggested that it is possible he will change his mind at the last minute,
asking to become a nonmember observer rather than a full UN member.
Some
parties believe Palestine will have a better chance of succeeding if it seeks
nonmember observer state status.
Abbas will
announce his choice on Friday during a speech at the General Assembly.
When asked
which route the Palestinian president was likely to take, Marty referred to the
membership application process.
“If the
issue is taken to the Security Council, Palestine needs to secure support from
nine council members because a veto may only be used if the votes reach more
than nine,” he said.
“However,
if the application is vetoed, well, we’ll see what that will mean.
“As we have
been emphasizing to all parties, the Palestinian [bid for membership] is not
opposed to the negotiation process, but is rather aimed at encouraging it.”
Antara
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