Foreign Affairs Minister, Retno LP Marsudi, gave a public lecture in the Senate Hall UGM on Friday (26/10). In front of hundreds of UGM students, Minister Retno asked the young people to uphold unity. She said Indonesia ought to learn from the experiences of other countries caught in conflict and war due to distrust between citizens.
“It’s not comfortable living in a society in which citizens do not trust each other due to unending conflict and war. Don’t let his happen in Indonesia, many things have taken place in other countries due to internal conflict in addition to external intervention,” she said.
During the 90th anniversary of Youth’s Oath Day, said the Minister, young people ought to sustain unity. “Indonesia’s glory is in the hands of the young people,” she said.
Minister Retno explained many foreign politics had been conducted by Indonesia in the past few years. She said the world was filled with uncertainties for peace due to threats of radicalism and terrorism. “Radicalism and terrorism have not ceased to be, while efforts to create peace are getting harder despite the world commitment to achieve sustainable development 2030,” he said.
She added the government, however, was committed to participating in achieving world peace while also protecting its citizens living abroad. “We also met with migrant workers in oil palm farms in Malaysia to ensure their right as worker has been met,” she said.
While in Yemen, said the Minister, the Indonesian ministry had evacuated thousands of Indonesian nationals. “We send our diplomats who speak Arabic and staff who are trained for conflict areas to do evacuation, protecting our citizens living and working there,” she said.
The Minister further touched upon the case of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey that caught global attention. She said the Indonesian government also gave a special attention to it by summoning the Saudi Ambassador to explain the case and made sure the case would be well resolved by the Saudi. “We want a thorough and transparent investigation be made,” she said.
UGM Vice- Rector for Cooperation and Alumni, Dr. Paripurna Sugarda, in his remarks said the power of diplomacy as a part of Indonesia’s foreign policy was to actively create the world peace.
According to Paripurna, the diplomacy done by Retno Marsudi needs to be appreciated following the appointment of Indonesia as a non-permanent member of the UNSC. “The appointment of Indonesia as a non-permanent member is obviously not apart from diplomacy power,” he said.