Mayor of Bengkulu Sends Letter to FIFA Rejects Israeli U-20 Football Team Come to Indonesia

Bengkulu, MINA – Bengkulu Mayor Helmi Hasan, participated in rejecting the Israeli national team at the U-20 World Cup. He even sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“Bengkulu City as the mother of the Saka Merah Putih firmly rejects the Israel U-20 National Football Team to compete in Indonesia, as FIFA does not include Russia in the 2022 Qatar World Cup,” said Helmi on Monday.

“This is in order to carry out the mandate in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, as well as carry out the mandate of the First President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno, who is also committed to supporting Palestinian independence and respecting the commitments of countries that also support Palestinian independence,” he added.

In his letter, Helmi also reminded Bengkulu to be the hometown of Soekarno’s wife, Fatmawati. Therefore, he stressed Soekarno’s commitment to condemn Israel’s occupation of Palestine, must be upheld.

However, it should be noted, Bengkulu is not 1 of the 6 hosts who have been appointed to host the U-20 World Cup. They are: South Sumatra, West Java, East Java, Jakarta, Bali, and Central Java.

“The preamble to the 1945 Constitution states, ‘independence is the right of all nations, and therefore, colonialism in the world must be abolished because it is incompatible with humanity and justice,” explained Helmi.

“Israel’s political policies towards Palestine are not in line with Indonesian political policies, and there is no diplomatic agreement between Indonesia and Israel,” he stressed. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)