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There was a huge demonstration against Zionism in Jakarta,
Indonesia last Sunday, April 17, 2005, but apparently it was not
newsworthy here. Monica
Picture and caption at:
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| Kliping
PKS: Massive
anti-Israel protests hit several Indonesian cities |
Posted by: Admin on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - 01:56
AM
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![Media Luar Negeri]() JAKARTA : Tens of thousands of Muslim Indonesians
held a peaceful anti-Israel protest and rallied outside the US embassy in
what police said appeared to be the largest demonstration the city has
seen in years.
Local radio reported that thousands of others held
similar marches in several other cities and towns across the archipelago
to protest what they called Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people
and alleged threats to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a site
considered holy for Muslims as well as Jews.
The Indonesian
demonstrations came one week after a leader of the radical Palestinian
movement Hamas appealed to "the entire Muslim world" to protect al-Aqsa.
He made the appeal on April 10 as up to 10,000 Palestinians,
backed by senior members of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, formed a
mass human shield at the al-Aqsa mosque against any possible threat to the
site by Israeli ultra-nationalists.
Indonesia is the world's
largest Muslim country.
The Jakarta protestors, many accompanied
by children, were members and supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS), a fledgling but popular Muslim political party.
Similar large-scale protests, organised by the same party, were
reported in several Indonesian cities and towns, including Surabaya in
East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Bandar Lampung in the southern part
of Sumatra island and Jepara in Central Java.
"The US, Israel are
the real terrorist," said a large banner carried by the noisy protestors
who yelled anti-Israeli slogans interspersed with shouts of "Allahu Akbar"
(God is great).
One banner said, "Save al-Aqsa from Jewish raids."
Another read: "To Aceh, OK. To Nias, OK, to Palestine, OK. PKS volunteers are ready to free Al-Aqsa." The message
referred to volunteers the party has sent to disaster-ravaged areas in
Indonesia over the past months.
Most of the protestors were clad
in white, and included veiled women.
They began gathering at about
7:00 am and at its peak the march stretched for more than 2.5 kilometres
(1.55 miles), blocking off one side of the divided multi-laned main road
through the city's business district.
Some members of the crowd
sat on the grass at a park across from the heavily-guarded US embassy to
hear speeches from party leaders including PKS deputy chairman Al Muzammil.
Speakers lashed
out at Israel and demanded that Washington stop financial or political
support for the state.
Armed police who normally protect the
embassy stood watch.
The protest was so large that those toward
the end of the march were still moving while their compatriots spent about
45 minutes outside the embassy. They then moved nearby to the city's main
Istiqlal mosque and disbanded after noon prayers there.
Police
could not immediately give a crowd estimate. An officer from the Central
Jakarta police said only that they numbered "tens of thousands." The
officer added that it appeared to be the biggest rally he had seen in
Jakarta in the past years.
There were no reported cases of
violence.
PKS holds regular
protests in Jakarta on various issues.
The al-Aqsa compound houses
the seventh century Dome of the Rock and the eighth-century Al-Aqsa.
According to Muslim tradition, the Dome of the Rock, whose golden
cupola has come for many to symbolise the Holy City, is built over the
spot from where Mohammed made his night journey to heaven, carried on the
winged horse al-Buraq.
The area, of about 14 hectares (35 acres),
is in the eastern part of Jerusalem seized and annexed by Israel in the
June 1967 war.
The compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, is
also the most sacred site in Judaism, for it once housed Solomon's Temple
which contained the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant in which
were placed the tablets of the law given by God to Moses.
It was
destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.
Strict Jewish tradition forbids
Jews to enter the compound for fear of trampling on the Holy of Holies.
However, ultra-nationalists periodically breach the ban to show
their determination to rebuild the temple -- necessarily destroying the
mosques -- and clash with Muslims there. - AFP
/ct
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/143051/1/.html |
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