Jakarta – Hundreds of protesters held a demonstration in front of the United States Embassy in Central Jakarta on Saturday January 13. Coinciding with 115 days of Israel's aggression in the Gaza Strip, the protesters demanded an immediate ceasefire.
The demonstrators, which were dominated by people wearing white clothing, had been crowding into the Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan area since 5.30 am.
Dozens of police personnel and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers could be seen standing guard in front of the US Embassy. Dozens of crowd control vehicles were also parked along Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan.
A number of the protesters brought Palestinian flags and props that read "Ceasefire Now". The majority of the protesters were adults although some brought minors with them.
"On the 100th day of the genocide of the Palestinian nation, [we] call for a ceasefire now. We stand here today while the Palestinian people in Gaza are being slaughtered, killed by the Israeli Zionists", said one of the demonstrators through a loudspeaker on Saturday.
The demonstrators conveyed a number of demands, namely a ceasefire and to bring a case of genocide against Israel before an international court.
"We stand here alongside 60 countries which are defending the Palestinian nation. We call for the war criminals [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his cronies to be indicted [before an international court]", they said.
"We support efforts to submit a demand for an international trial, we demand that countries like America, the European Union stop defending Israel", they said.
Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip in the context of the war against Hamas which has controlled the area since October 7, 2023.
During the war that had lasted three months and five days, as many as 23,708 Palestinian civilians have died, more than 60 thousand people have been injured and more than seven thousand are still missing.
In addition to this, more than a thousand members of Hamas have died and 200 others have been held hostage by Israel.
On the other hand, more than 1,398 Israeli civilians have died, 8,787 people have been injured, 253 people have been held hostage and two are still missing. (can/end)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "100 Hari Agresi Israel di Gaza, Ratusan Orang Demo Kedubes AS".]
