Rallies against Israel continue

Rallies against Israel continue

JAKARTA (JP): Street rallies to protest the death of scores of
Palestinians at the hands of Israeli soldiers last week continued
in several of the country's cities on Monday.

Besides condemning the Israeli soldiers, the protesters,
mostly students, also condemned the United Nations and the United
States for failing to come up with a fair resolution to the
problem.

None of the rallies were reported to have turned violent.

In Jakarta, dozens of students from the Association of Inter-
Campus Muslim Students (HAMMAS) staged a protest in front of the
United States embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

The protesters carried banners, one of which read "Palestine,
your misery is our misery."

The rally almost turned violent when police personnel hit one
of the protesters while they and dozens of police officers were
engaged in a shoving match in front of the embassy.

After burning the U.S. and Israeli flags, the students left
the scene peacefully.

The capital has witnessed hundreds of Muslims taking to the
streets since Friday in order to stage similar protests.

In the East Java capital of Surabaya, around 500 students
grouped under the People's Anti-Israel and Anti-America Committee
(Kumail) staged a demonstration on Monday morning during which an
Israeli flag was burned and orations delivered in front of the
U.S. consulate general on Jl. Dr. Soetomo.

The protesters waved posters and banners stating "United
States the Fighter of HAM(Burgers)" (HAM is the Indonesian
abbreviation for Human Rights), "Go to Hell with Your NATO -- No
Action Talk Only", and other signs condemning Israel.

The group, however, failed to meet with officials from the
consulate general.

"We call on all activists to protest the violent moves by the
Israelis against the Palestinians," said Hairuman, coordinator of
the protest.

A similar protest was also staged in front of the consulate on
Friday by around 200 students, grouped under the Indonesian
Muslim Students Association (KAMMI).

In the Central Java capital of Semarang, some 200 students
grouped under the Semarang Muslim Indonesian Students'
Association staged rallies around the city on Monday in protest
at the protracted conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"We must stick together and boycott all American products as a
sign of protest. We declare a war (Jihad) on Zionist Israel.

"Muslims must stick together.. as it is clear that the United
Nations and the United States have failed to come up with a fair
resolution to the matter. They just ignore it as if nothing has
happened," Marzuki, coordinator of the protest, said.

"In a case like Atambua (in East Nusa Tenggara), they (the UN
and the United States) are very responsive, but when it is about
Israel and Palestine they just keep quiet," he added.
(nur/edt/jaw)