Trump’s Board of Peace. Muslim countries along for uncertain ride
· Michael West
While Australia is yet to respond to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace invite, several Muslim countries have, including Indonesia. What does President Prabowo hope to achieve, asks Duncan Graham?
The Board of Peace was set up as a “global collaboration platform to support the stabilisation of conflict areas and post-conflict recovery, especially in Gaza,” and announced along with the 20-point peace plan in September last year.
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So far, about 40 countries have joined, and at the inaugural meeting last week, pledges were made for up to $10B in support from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. The US has pledged $14B to the controversial private entity.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has pledged to send troops for peacekeeping efforts.
Prabowo has used joining as a chance to be reasonable about Israel, an issue few have dared touch for fear of being seen to betray Palestinians (who are not represented on the Board).
Last September he told the UN General Assembly:
“We must have an independent Palestine, but we must also recognise and guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we have real peace: peace without hate, peace without suspicion.
The only solution is this two-state solution.
And Australia?
Most BOP participants are minor right-wing dictatorships, like the feudal monarchies of Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan and Türkiye have also joined. They’re supposed to be parliamentary republics, but their militaries are often in control, so best tagged ‘flawed democracies‘.
Australia has yet to respond to the invitation. Depending on Australia’s potential role, many of those on the board may not be the sort of states that Australia wants its troops to work alongside in restoring harmony to the damaged, distressed, and contested Gaza Strip, where Hamas gunmen are still sniping, and the Israel Defense Force continues bombing.
American allies, including the UK, Germany, Italy and France, have also declined to sign up, although former British prime minister Tony Blair has a prominent role. Canada’s invite was rescinded, while all the Nordic countries have also declined the invitation, as has New Zealand.
Those who are gathering around the throne of King Trump, hoping for a tariff trim, are – to mix the metaphor – sardines. The prize tuna is Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest country by population and with the most Muslims; though still constitutionally a secular state, it has more Christians than Australia has citizens.
President Prabowo Subianto told the inaugural BOP meeting his nation would contribute up to 8,000 troops and start working in depopulated areas that Israel controls, like Rafah. That would test diplomacy skills – Indonesia doesn’t recognise Israel and rarely its people.
A US general would be in charge and Indonesia number two.
Indonesia’s role questioned
Committing his Republic to the BOP came as a surprise to most Indonesians. There’s been no referendum of its 280 million people, or public debate, so few know what’s involved. They will when the body bags start returning.
Before heading to the meeting in Washington, Prabowo spent almost four hours with Indonesia’s two leading Islamic organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama (Revival of the Scholars) and Muhammadiyah (followers of Muhammad). Together, they claim close to 150 million members.
They reportedly approved Prabowo’s support as the best way to get a two-state solution, provided Indonesia withdraws if it doesn’t align with the nation’s values.
Prabowo’s apparent closeness to Trump seems to be making him the de facto international political leader of the minor Muslim states, giving him clout when dealing with the two-state solution issue.
According to a statement from Prabowo’s office, the President “affirmed Indonesia’s full support for the 20-point plan initiated by US President Donald Trump as a framework for regional stability and peace.
“Since Indonesia initially studied the plan, the Indonesian government has expressed its understanding and strong commitment to actively contribute to its implementation.
“We are committed to ensuring its success. We understand that there will be many obstacles and difficulties, but we are very optimistic about President Trump’s leadership.
“This stance also reinforces Indonesia’s commitment to promoting the realization of the Two-State Solution as a path to just and sustainable peace in the Middle East.”
What – is there a typo here? Neither the US nor Israel supports the two-state solution. Australia does, which is one reason it cops so much flak from the Zionists.
Prabowo sees himself as a world statesman and is often overseas (30 times in the past year), beating his chest. Consequently, his absence from Jakarta roused little interest till the Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (Indonesian Legal Aid Institute) noted the boss was off to see his hero.
Chairperson Muhammad Isnur warned that joining the BOP had the potential to weaken “Indonesia’s commitment to upholding international law and protecting human rights.
Indonesia must fully support Palestinian independence, not side with parties suspected of committing crimes against humanity.
SE Asian think tank Stratsea commented:
“What makes this particularly head-scratching is Indonesia’s lack of leverage … it possesses neither the economic stick to sanction violations nor the military carrot to guarantee security.
“Consequently, Indonesia is relegated to the role of a “rule-taker” rather than a “rule-maker” in the BOP. Indonesia also holds neither a veto power nor the economic weight to steer its agenda.”
Whether the Board becomes a real instrument of peace or just another one of Trump’s fads remains to be seen. Neither its existence nor the inaugural meeting was mentioned in Trump’s marathon State of the Union address this week.
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