THE country’s president, under fire at home for signing up to US counterpart Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, has insisted his country would not pay the U$1bil (RM3.9bil) joining fee for permanent membership.
Jakarta had only committed peacekeeping troops for the initiative, Prabowo Subianto said in a statement published on the presidential YouTube channel on Sunday.
The “Board of Peace” came together after the Trump administration, teaming up with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza.
Countries that want to be permanent members must pay US$1bil, sparking criticism the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.
Prabowo, a former general, has come under criticism from Indonesian Muslim groups for joining the board and pledging to send 8,000 peacekeeping troops to Gaza.
Prabowo attended the inaugural meeting of the “Board of Peace” in Washington last month.
But he later said he would withdraw from the board if it doesn’t bring benefits to Palestinians or align with national interests.
“We never said we wanted to contribute one billion dollars,” Prabowo said on his YouTube channel.
Prabowo signed a tariff deal with the United States last month, but insisted Sunday that Indonesia could withdraw from any agreement if its conditions or execution threatens the national interests.
Talks with Washington about any peacekeeping mission to Gaza have been put “on hold”, according to state news agency Antara, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela. — AFP
