Bung Karno's Endless Support For Palestine

Soekarno (Source: geheugen.delpher.nl)

JAKARTA - Since the era of President Soekarno, Indonesia has been a major supporter of Palestinian independence. The similarity of fate - Indonesia and Palestine - which was once colonized became the end. For Bung Karno, every nation has the right to determine its own destiny.

In this context, Palestine has the right to be free from the shackles of Israeli occupation. The occupation of the world must be eliminated. Big Brother often said that message. Moreover, as a form of long resistance against colonialism.

Perhaps no one doubts that Soekarno is the best president who ever led Indonesia. His attitude which was consistently anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism, not only won the hearts of the Indonesian people, but also the people of the world.

Like Che Guevara from Cuba, Bung Karno later became an icon of world resistance to colonialism. One of the traces of resistance to colonialism has been shown by him in a phenomenal Pleido entitled Indonesia Sues.

Bung Karno worked out this plea-speech when he was a Dutch prisoner in Benceuy Prison. Right before the trial, Bung Karno took pains to write his defense. Bung Karno used the prison library as a storehouse of knowledge in concocting pleadology.

It's not easy. To write Bung Karno's speech, he only used limited resources such as a tin to serve as the basis for himself to write the defense that the Indonesian people remember most.

“It (can) was thick with several layers of paper and I started writing. In this way I persevered in compiling my defense which later became the history of Indonesian politics under the name Indonesia Sues, "said Bung Karno, quoted by Cindy Adams in Bung Karno's book: Connect the Indonesian People's Tongue (1965).

“In this book I reveal in detail the grievous suffering of my people as a result of three and a half centuries of exploitation under Dutch colonialism. This thesis on colonialism, which was later published in a dozen languages in several countries and engraved with a burning word, is the result of writing on the double duty cans for toileting, "he added.

Bung Karno's efforts to write down the defense were finally met. When he was tried at the Bandung Landraad trial in 1930. Unexpectedly, the trial was like a platform to increase Bung Karno's popularity in the eyes of the Indonesian people and the world.

Particularly, because of Bung Karno's unchanging attitude towards colonialism. Bung Karno also appeared with a brilliant defense speech, Indonesia Sues, which he read out for two days in a row.

Bung Karno's plea at the Bandung Court was like a political manifesto he aimed at, especially at listeners outside the court. Those who listen will burn their souls to immediately rise up against the shackles of colonialism.

Even through Pledoi, Bung Karno did not only expose the colonialism of the Dutch East Indies government. However, Bung Karno helped expose all colonialism on the world.

"... Given rights or not given rights; given a handle or not given a handle; given a reinforcement or not given a reinforcement-each creature, each people, each nation must not do it, surely it will eventually rise up, surely it will eventually wake up, surely it will eventually move its strength, if it feels too bad for itself to be persecuted by some force angry, ”shouted Bung Karno in the Indonesia Sues (1930) pledoi.

Support for Palestine

Bung Karno's echoes of anti-colonialism grew louder after Indonesia's independence. The reason is that colonization on earth is still perpetual. It was recorded that after World War II in August 1945, many countries were still struggling with colonialism.

Especially in Africa, Asia, and Arab countries (Palestine). As a form of consistency, Bung Karno did not even want to recognize the Israel that was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948.

In the Palestinian context, part of the Arab-Palestinian nation was forced to flee because their homeland was forcibly occupied by Israeli forces, assisted by the United States (US). Even though there is already an international body, the United Nations (UN).

The problem of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land has never been resolved. Therefore, all Asian African countries then launched the idea of holding an Asia-Africa Conference on 18-24 April 1955 in Bandung, West Java.

However, prior to the event, Indonesia and Pakistan had strongly rejected Israel's inclusion. This is because the presence of Israel could offend the Arabs, who at that time were still struggling for independence. Moreover, Israel is known as part of imperialism that all the leaders of the third world are trying to fight.

This attitude was then shown by Bung Karno when delivering his opening speech entitled Let a New Asia and New Africa Be Born on April 18, 1955. Bung Karno revealed that even though the conference participants came from nationalities, social and cultural backgrounds, religion, political system, and even skin color also varies, Asia-Africa can unite.

"President Soekarno, who made a speech in English according to Roeslan Abdulgani, English with a Javanese accent, stated that Let a new Asia Africa be born (let a new Asia and Africa be born). This is the first intercontinental conference of colored nations in the history of mankind, "wrote Rosihan Anwar in the book Small History of Indonesia's" Petite Histoire "Volume 2 (2009).

Bung Karno said that the KAA aims to build support for world peace. In line with that, the KAA was used as an arena for Asian-African leaders to unite against colonialism in whatever form it appeared.

Not only that, Soekarno appealed to all countries in Asia-Africa not to be deceived by the chanting of the phrase "colonialism is dead." In reality, colonialism has only changed its form. Neocolonialism is still present in various parts of the earth, such as Vietnam, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

“Colonialism also has its modern clothes, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, actual physical control by small but foreign communities within a country. It is a skilled and determined enemy, and appears in many guises. It doesn't hand over its loot that easily. Wherever, whenever, and after all, colonialism is an evil thing, and must be eradicated from the earth, ”said Bung Karno in the opening of the KAA, April 18, 1955.

* Read other information about SOEKARNO or read other interesting articles from Detha Arya Tifada.

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