OIC should pressure UN to act against Israel: Observer

Medan, North Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Countries grouped in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) should take a bold initiative and urge the United Nations (UN) to take action against Israel for its military aggression in the Gaza Strip which has caused hundreds of casualties, an observer here said.

"If the UN ignores the demand for action, OIC member countries might as well quit the UN and form a new organization," Ansari Yamanah, executive director of Slokantara Institute, said here Monday.

He said the Israel aggression clearly amounted to an attempt to commit genocide against the Palestinian people and noted the Israeli actions had drawn severe criticism from people around the world.

However, the UN appeared not to be taking the Israeli actions seriously, and not to be doing its duty of maintaining international peace. In fact, the UN seemed to be defending the interests of western countries, those of the United States in particular, he said.

This could be concluded from, among other things, the fact that most of the UN members countries having the veto right were western countries, according to Yamanah.

Countries having the veto right were the US, Britain, France and Russia. They always used their absolute right to block any proposal considered detrimental to their interests such as sanctions against Israel, he said.

If the UN cannot be neutral and firm, including in issues relating to Islam, it should be no problem for OIC member countries to pull out from the international organization, Yamanah said.

If an OIC demand for action against Israel was ignored by the UN, OIC member countries, including Indonesia, could form a new world organization to "counter-balance" the UN in creating international peace.

Yamanah said, an initiative to quit the UN and form a rival world organization was in the past taken by Indonesia's first president, Soekarno who believed the UN's existence was only benefiting the western countries.

The new world organization could be led by the leaders of OIC member countries such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Yamnah also said Indonesia was expected to play a big role in putting pressure on the UN. "We really wish this can be realized. President Yudhoyono is not only a leader of Indonesia but also of the world," he said.
source:antara.co.id