UK’s Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Bill Rammell, delivered a keynote speech on the UK’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East at CDCC during his visit to Indonesia, 10 February 2009. The following is his outstanding speech.

I am delighted to be visiting Jakarta – a city with a history that stretches back nearly as far as London’s – and which is certainly a match in its cosmopolitan feel and the diversity of its residents.

This is a good time to be here in Indonesia.  I honestly believe that we’ve never had a more productive, open and potentially fruitful relationship than the one we enjoy today.

Our two nations may be different in many ways, but there is much we share also.  

Britain and Indonesia are both vibrant democracies, believing strongly in the right to free speech and equality of opportunity.  

We are both multi-cultural, open societies – which not only tolerate people of different faiths and cultures, but recognise the value that those differences bring to society as a whole.  

And both are countries that look beyond their borders, knowing that we are part of an increasingly inter-connected world, and therefore have a duty to contribute positively to that world whenever we can.

It is this third point – playing a positive role in world events – that I would like to address today.

As important as the bilateral relationship is between our two countries, I’m here in Jakarta because of the influence Indonesia has on world events – and because of the example you can provide of a nation that has successfully travelled the long and difficult road out of authoritarianism and conflict.  
Indonesia today is a country where all its citizens can participate in government – from the national and provincial level – to the kelurahan councils where ordinary people have access to the decisions - and decision makers - that affect their lives.

It is a multi-cultural, multi faith society where the majority respect the rights of the minority.  It is a country that has taken its motto: “unity in diversity” to its heart in recent years.

We in the UK don’t have a national motto – but if we did, I could think of no better one for us.  

Unity in diversity is an idea that deserves a bigger stage.  An idea that Indonesia could export to other parts of the world – in the same way that South Africa’s concept of truth and reconciliation has given the world a new tool for handling difficult post conflict situations.  

Can you imagine a Middle East where unity in diversity was the over-riding principle?  Where all Israelis and Palestinians not only recognised each others differences, but also the strength and prosperity they would both gain by living peacefully together.

Imagine an Afghanistan that didn’t have to focus on the suppression of violent extremism, but was able to put all its efforts into building a strong, unified country shaped by the will of the Afghan people.

And an Iraq, where Sunni, Shia and Kurd alike consolidate the democratic progress they have enjoyed of late – and increasingly draw strength and unity from their diversity.

Some may say this is idealistic – but I don’t apologise for that.  

It was a healthy dose of idealism that brought a lasting peace to Northern Ireland.  In the decade since the Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly in favour of a peace agreement, the rewards brought by that peace are there for all to see.  

And looking around Jakarta today, at its buzzing traffic and gleaming offices – it’s hard to imagine that little more than a decade ago, this country was in the grip of an authoritarian regime that restricted open expressions of political freedom.

Where once Indonesia seemed destined for disruption and economic decay - you are today being talked of by the likes of Newsweek magazine as “a cohesive, robust and exuberantly democratic…nation”.  

And where, just a few years ago, the lives of people in Aceh were being torn apart by conflict – those same people are now preparing for their second round of elections since the peace agreement.

It took idealism to imagine these changes – and I am sure no end of hard work and tolerance to make them a reality.

It is this mix of idealism, tolerance and hard work that I believe is needed now if we are to see a lasting end to the troubles between Israel and the Middle East.

The brutality of the war in Gaza has shocked us all.  When we see on our television screens the inconsolable despair of parents who have lost children; the shock of families standing among the ruins of their homes; or the fear in the eyes of those within range of Hamas rockets – we would have to have hearts of stone not to be moved.

The UK was active from the start in calling for a cease-fire – both in private and in public.  

We tabled and successfully negotiated a UN Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.  The British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, along with many others, were tireless in working with the international community to deliver that ceasefire.

We made it quite clear that, while Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks, it also has a duty to fulfil its international humanitarian obligations whilst doing so.    

We condemn all Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians - but in our view, the Israeli military response was not proportionate.  

We support the UN Secretary-General’s call for a full investigation into the shelling of UN premises in Gaza and call on Israel to investigate fully other serious allegations that international law was broken during the conflict.

We also call on Israel to do more to open the crossings into Gaza, in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The two most pressing tasks for the international community now are ensuring that the cease-fire holds and continuing the flow of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza.

To meet the immediate humanitarian needs, the UK has trebled the financial assistance we are providing for Gaza.  We have pledged £26 million in aid to help provide medical services, food, fuel and vehicles, and to provide much needed support for desperately traumatised children.  

This is in addition to the £243 million we have committed to supporting Palestinian people in other ways over a three year period.

To ensure the ceasefire holds, we are urging Hamas to prevent any further rocket attacks on Israeli towns and villages – and to use their authority to call for an end to terrorist attacks like the one seen in Kissufim last month.  

The indiscriminate targeting of civilians is simply not a legitimate way to show defiance and can only lead to the continuation of a conflict that has shattered too many lives for too many years.

But simply keeping the ceasefire and providing emergency humanitarian aid is not enough.  If we are to see an end to the ongoing personal cost of this conflict, there is an urgent need to find a long term solution to the problems.
I say urgent – because we believe that this particular moment in time represents the best chance in a decade to find a lasting peace settlement.  
Neither Israel nor Palestine will find the peace they both want by waging war. 

It can only be found in a political solution.

We firmly believe in a comprehensive approach – with a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine – underpinned by a broader peace between Israel and the whole Arab world.

We’re not alone in this view.  The Arab League, in a letter they sent to President Obama before his inauguration, outlined to him the Arab Peace Initiative.  An initiative that offers Israel full normalisation of relations with all Arab states, in return for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied land and the creation of a Palestinian state.  

In other words – a 23 state solution: the 22 states of the Arab League plus Israel.

The Palestinian President himself described the Arab Peace Initiative as the most significant of the last 60 years.  Israeli leaders have also indicated that they view this initiative as the basis for negotiations.

And President Obama, in an interview to the Arab TV station al-Arabiya, called the initiative “courageous” and “significant”, and said that Israel would be willing to make sacrifices if there were serious partnership on the other side.
So I reiterate that we need urgent action to reach out and seize this chance for peace.  

We believe that Indonesia can play its part – by leveraging your influence with members of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to convince them to show the same unity in diversity, the same tolerance and willingness to seek compromise that has delivered so much for your citizens over the past decade.
We will do the same in our contacts with Israel, in our discussions with our partners in the EU, and with the new US administration.  

Of course the Middle East is not the only global issue that Indonesia can affect positively.  Like us, you have suffered directly from brutal terrorist attacks targeted at innocent people going about their normal lives.  

Terrorism requires a strong, international political and operative response – so that we not only prevent the attacks, but work also to prevent the sort of extremism that leads to such attacks.

We can do this best by offering an alternative, moderate choice to the one presented by the terrorists.

We are committed to working with Indonesia to prevent people either becoming terrorists, or supporting terrorist activity.

While there is no justification for people committing terrorist acts, we can reduce the environment in which terrorists find it easier to recruit supporters by working to eliminate social disadvantage, inequality and discrimination.
We must also challenge the ideologies that extremists use to justify their violence, by amplifying the voices of the moderates who disagree with these views.  

Indonesia has a leading role to play in the Islamic world – by showing that being a nation with a devoted respect for religion, does not mean you have to pander to those who wish to force one religion, or one version of a religion on others.  

It is important also to look at what attracts people to the extremists – whether it’s quick justice, or a promise to end corruption – and show that progress can be made on these issues without resorting to intolerance and hatred – but through better government providing the services expected by the people.
We are supporting the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan in their efforts to deliver more for their people.  

While our initial involvement in both countries was focussed on dealing with the immediate threats posed by the dictatorial regimes that ran them, our long term aim is to help them deliver stability, security and increasing prosperity for all their citizens.

Long term stability is what we seek in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq.
For if we have a stable, peaceful Middle East, and a settled, moderate and increasingly prosperous Iraq and Afghanistan, much of the political, developmental and diplomatic effort we currently expend in those countries can be turned to tackling the other global challenges we face today:
-    the need to deal with the immediate threat posed by a global economic downturn, threatening the jobs of many;
-    the pressing need to reduce the green-house gasses that threaten our environment – on which Indonesia and the UK find much common ground;
-    and the longer term goal of preventing and resolving conflict wherever it exists.

These are big issues that will require effort from every nation – but more so from influential nations like the UK and Indonesia.

It is only when nations like ours come together – that we can hope to solve the most difficult and pressing problems.  

Only when we find common cause – and pursue that cause with vigour and determination – that we can make a genuine difference.

And only when, as Pramoedya wrote in his Buru Quartet, we concentrate on “humanities’ life…not humanities’ death” that we can hope to convince those bent on conflict that unity in diversity is a better, viable alternative.

I look forward to the UK and Indonesia working ever closer together – understanding each other better – and drawing strength from our differences to realise our shared aims.[]