Indonesia has been chosen to facilitate the peace process in Afghanistan. One of the first steps in this process is the Tripartite Forum in Jakarta to be held this month.
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Kompas/Suhartono
Before attending the Second Kabul Process conference, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, welcomes Yamamoto, a special representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) at Haram Sharai on Wednesday (28/2).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Indonesia has been chosen to facilitate the peace process in Afghanistan. One of the first steps in this process is the Tripartite Forum in Jakarta to be held this month.
The Tripartite Forum involving Afghan, Pakistani and Indonesian clerics, scheduled to be held in mid-March, is an important continuation of a previous bilateral forum. This forum will also determine the future of peace building and the peace process in Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi told Kompas at her ministry in Jakarta that the forum of clerics would hopefully result in a peace declaration that would further the peace-building and peace process in the country, which has been torn apart by 40 years of conflict.
“We will see if clerics in the forum will come up with a fatwa or another document. I imagine that, whatever the result is, it will be a call for peace from the clerics,” she said.
Retno said the involvement of clerics was fundamental in the Afghan peace-building and peace process. “As an Islamic country with more than 99 percent of its population being Muslims, [Afghan] President Ashraf Ghani always says that clerics have an important role in the religious life of the country. This means that clerics also have an important role in the national peace process and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” she explained.
“The clerics’ forum is being held as an early part of the future peace-building and peace process in Afghanistan. Another ongoing factor is the improvement of human resources in Afghanistan,” she continued.
According to Retno, the Indonesian government is currently preparing the clerics’ forum. “This trilateral forum will be an important preparation for a future international forum. The trilateral forum is a continuation of the bilateral forum between Afghan and Indonesian clerics in February,” Retno said.
MUI as event organizer
“We don’t know yet what the international [forum] will be like or when it will be held. This will depend on the trilateral meeting,” Retno said.
According to Retno, the tripartite forum of clerics will be organized by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). The government will act as facilitator. “We will let the MUI decide how many clerics are invited and who to invite from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The MUI will talk with Afghan and Pakistani clerics who are expected to attend,” Retno said.
There have been numerous peace efforts in Afghanistan but they always fail, Retno added. This time, Indonesia has been chosen to facilitate peace in the country because it has no political or economic interest and has a good track record in conflict resolution.
“With no interest and a good track record, the world trusts Indonesia [to facilitate peace in Afghanistan],” Retno said.
Apart from facilitating peace in Afghanistan, Indonesia will also oversee human resource capacity-building initiatives in the country.
Previously, in a conference at Haram Sharai Palace in Kabul on Wednesday (28/2/2018), attended by President Ghani and Afghan High Peace Council chairman Kharim Kalili, Indonesia received a positive response from the international community for its facilitation of peace in Afghanistan.
After Friday prayers, Vice President Jusuf Kalla reported to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on results of his formal and informal meetings related to the peace-building and peace process in Afghanistan.
“The President wishes that these efforts are intensified, especially in the clerics’ forum, despite the long process. The President requested us to maintain communications with President Ghani, clerics and other stakeholders in Afghanistan,” Kalla said.
Afghan factions must be pushed toward peace. Instability in the country has led to countless victims. On Friday, a girl died and 15 others were injured in a bombing in Kabul.
Kabul Police spokesperson Basir Mujahid said the explosion occurred in Qabil Bay, where a police station, a customs office and several guest houses are located. A doctor in the area, Mohammad Musa Zahir, said two girls and three boys were among the injured.
