Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – The Israeli U-20 national football team has qualified to participate in the U-20 World Cup, which will take place from May 21 to June 11. This opens up the possibility of the Israeli team coming to compete in Indonesia.
Although Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with the Zionist state, Indonesia’s position and commitment to supporting Palestine are very clear and never change.
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Therefore, the plan for the Israeli national team to come to Indonesia has been met with strong opposition. One of the hashtags that have emerged is #MenluMundur and #MenluLanggarAturan, indicating that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is considered to have authority regarding the permit for the Israeli national team to enter the country.
“Don’t let there be a hashtag #MenluMundur because of this. My suggestion is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain to the public about the permit for the Israeli U-20 national team to participate in the World Cup, which is the responsibility of @Kemlu_RI so that it is not used as fuel by barbaric people for their political interests,” wrote the Twitter account @logikapolitikid.
Jangan sampe nanti ada hastag #MenluMundur gara2 ini.
Saran dari gue si, Menlu jelasin ke Publik prihal Izin Timnas Israel yg lolos Piala Dunia U20, itu ranahnya @Kemlu_RI , biar gak dijadiin bahan Gorengan kaum barbar untuk kepentingan Politiknya. pic.twitter.com/KcxcIsW3qH
— LOGIKA POLITIK (@logikapolitikid) March 10, 2023
“The emergence of the hashtag #MenluMundur shows the rejection of the public towards the arrival of the Israeli team. However, conflicts between countries should not be associated with sports,” said a Twitter user.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs should clarify the situation instead of blaming PSSI. It is already stated that PSSI is only the organizer. #MenluMundur,” said another Twitter user.
In its response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over this controversy to PSSI and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. “The context is that the Ministry of Youth and Sports or PSSI is the organizer of the FIFA event, so for sports aspects, it is more appropriate to ask the relevant parties,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, to Republika on Wednesday (8/3/2023).
As the organizer, PSSI must follow all FIFA regulations, including the participation of the Israeli national team in the U-20 World Cup. Meanwhile, permission for the members of the Israeli team to enter the country can only be issued by the relevant ministry/agency, such as the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs in terms of security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in terms of entry permit and immigration from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.