Just Peace

There were three important events for the world last week. First, the completion of the first phase of the ceasefire and the second phase of efforts between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Second, the dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK organization by its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. And third, the rift in relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.

The three events were based on the same desire, namely the search for just peace. Peace alone is not enough if it is obtained only by ending the conflict, but by sacrificing the interests of one party.

There are various theories about just peace. One of the most easily seen is that formulated by the Swiss-based Principles for Peace Foundation. This foundation houses 120 institutions around the world that work in the field of peace efforts, both at the international, national, and local levels.

There are eight elements of peace that they formulated, namely dignified treatment for all parties involved; solidarity that the involvement of each party determines the results achieved; humility to be empathetic and understand the situation from various points of view; legitimacy of the effort; security guarantee that there will be no actions that will spark conflict in the future; respect and care for pluralism and inclusiveness; understanding that each peace effort is unique and stands alone; and the pursuit of integrated solutions.

In the case of Gaza, the second phase of the ceasefire was supposed to start on Saturday (1/3/2025) and last for 42 days afterward. The agreement was that Israel would release 1,900 Palestinians they had imprisoned and Hamas would release 62 hostages they had kidnapped during the Aqsa Storm attack on 7 October 2023. However, negotiations are still ongoing.

After that, the fate of Gaza will be negotiated. Israel wants Gaza to be emptied and become a buffer zone. Israel's closest ally, the US, or more precisely Trump, proposed a more controversial idea. Rather than Gaza being a wasteland, it would be better to develop it as a beautiful beachside tourist city.

According to Trump, the 2 million Gazans will be relocated to other countries that are sympathetic to the Palestinian issue. Of course, those countries will be happy to accept the Gazans. That way, everyone is happy. The Gazans can live free from conflict, Israel is not worried about being attacked by Hamas, and Trump benefits from the tourist properties there. That's Trump's version.

Peace? Maybe. Justice? Definitely not. Several countries, including Indonesia, have called for a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis to be a two-state solution. If the sovereign rights of each are fulfilled, it will be the first step to rebuilding social cohesion.

Just peace is also a question for Kurds spread across Turkey, Syria and Iraq. Abdullah Ocalan, the founder and leader of the PKK who is now in prison, has called on all PKK members to lay down their arms and join the Turkish state.

After investigation, there was a whiff of politics from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been in power since 2003. The constitution prohibits him from running again. In the face of this, Erdogan must gain the support of the DEM Party, his opposition which supports the PKK, in order to hold an early election to change the constitution. The DEM Party's condition is granting amnesty to Ocalan.

There has been no statement after Ocalan's dissolution of the PKK on how to ensure the integration of the Kurdish community into Turkish society. Moreover, the Kurdish group also fought in several countries, one of which was Syria.

They have not stated their recognition and willingness to join the interim government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa has not responded to the dissolution of the PKK and the future integration of the Kurdish ethnic group in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Ukraine-Russia ceasefire agreement that was thought to be easy to realize actually seemed to fall apart. Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance instead became an arena for mutual attacks. Vance accused Ukraine of being ungrateful for US assistance during the war because it did not want to accept the US's conditions that Ukraine would not expect the return of five regions occupied by Russia and a ban on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Zelenskyy wanted the US to guarantee security in Ukraine. One way is by investing in the rare earth metal extraction industry. The meeting failed, Zelenskyy left Washington DC empty-handed.

It’s easy to compare Zelenskyy’s explosive communication style to that of French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. All three leaders are good at polite language and keeping Trump happy.

The three countries are also in need of US assistance to maintain peace in the Middle East and Europe. Trump is known to be a bully in the various agreements he proposes. However, we must not forget the mental state of the four heads of state who spoke with Trump.

Jordan, Britain and France are not under foreign occupation. Their citizens and cities are not being bombarded with missiles. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has experienced invasion, assault and occupation firsthand. It was as if he had fallen and been hit by the stairs when he spoke to Trump.

While Ukraine is grateful for the US assistance, it is not the US that can determine the fate of a sovereign nation. Neither Trump nor Vance mentioned the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet that fact is important in formulating a long-term peace, politically, geographically, socially, and psychologically.

Returning to the question of just peace, is peace achieved by recognizing and acknowledging the greatness of a country so that the message "don't try to challenge if you don't want to suffer the consequences" appears? Is just peace determined by political rewards for the relevant leaders? Where are the voices of the citizens?