By A.M. Hendropriyono
Head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) from 2001 to 2004
Since its independence, Indonesia has positioned the Palestinian people's struggle as an inseparable part of its “free and active” foreign policy, based on justice and anti-colonialism. In 1945, President Sukarno stated that "as long as the Palestinian people are not yet free, Indonesia is not yet fully free."
This statement was not empty rhetoric. It became the moral foundation for all subsequent Indonesian presidents—from Sukarno, Suharto, to Prabowo Subianto—in maintaining Indonesia's consistent stance on Palestine. Few countries in the world have a track record of consistency spanning more than seven decades on a single international humanitarian issue.
In 1947, Indonesia was among the first countries in Asia to reject the UN's plan to partition Palestine (Resolution 181). President Sukarno viewed this as a new form of colonialism in Arab lands.
At the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung, President Sukarno emphasized that Palestine was part of the global decolonization struggle. The Egyptian and Jordanian delegations at the time recognized Indonesia's moral and diplomatic support as "the spirit of oppressed nations."
In the 1950s, the Indonesian government did not establish diplomatic relations with Israel and even refused Israel's participation in various international forums attended by Indonesia—including the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO).
Sukarno also stated that "there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel until Palestine is independent." This principle has been upheld to this day.
During the era of President Suharto, Indonesia played a significant role in international Islamic organizations. In 1969, Indonesia became a founding member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and actively pushed for international recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
Under Foreign Ministers Adam Malik and Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, Indonesia consistently:
1. Supported UN resolutions on the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. 2. Rejecting normalization of relations with Israel.
3. Sending humanitarian aid and scholarships to Palestinian students.
Suharto also instructed that a PLO embassy be opened in Jakarta in 1989, making Indonesia the first Southeast Asian country to grant official diplomatic status to Palestine.
This move served as a powerful symbol that Indonesia was not just talking, but placing the Palestinian cause at the heart of Asian diplomacy.
Once the government reformation era began, bilateral relations became more concrete.