Praditya Fauzi Rahman, Surabaya – Israel's betrayal of Palestine following the ceasefire agreement has triggered anger among the people in Indonesia, with Surabaya being no exception. Hundreds of thousands of people held a defend Palestine actions in the city of heroes voicing support for the defence of the Palestinian population.
The action was not just demonstration and opportunity to speak out, but also a long-march in commemoration of the Isra Mikraj holiday marking the sacred journey of Prophet Muhammad.
Setting off from the Panglima Sudirman area, they then passed through Basuki Rahmat and ended the march on Jalan Gubernur Suryo or the Surabaya Apsari Park in front of the State Grahadi Building (the governor's office).
"During the Prophet's Isra Mikraj he stopped at the Aqsha Mosque before going to Sidratul Muntaha. Now, the Holy Land is in the grip of the Jewish Zionist colonialists. Should we be silent?", shouted one of the speakers through a megaphone during the march on Sunday February 2.
The protesters could be seen carrying a number of flags with white and black Arabic writing as well as posters and a banner that was unfurled during the march contained messages in support of Palestine.
The hundreds of thousands of protesters completely filled Jalan Gubernur Suryo between 7 am and 9 am closing down 50 percent of the main roads in the heart of the city of heroes.
"It's enough already, they have colonised, oppressed and insulted the Aqsa Mosque. It's time to unite, take to the streets. Free the Aqsa Mosque and Palestine from Jewish Zionist colonialism", they added.
Defend Palestine public relations officer Muhammad Rizki Nafis said the long-march and demonstration was a form of concern and support for the Palestinian community. The action was also to criticise the actions of the Jewish Zionists from Israel.
"Praise be to Allah, we are holding a defend Palestinian action. The aim is to convey to the public that we still have a problem, our sisters and brothers in Palestine are still in the position of colonialism", he said.
Nafis said that currently there is a ceasefire. However, citizens of the world including Indonesia, were shocked by the betrayal of a ceasefire by the Israeli state under the control of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"We remind you that the ceasefire is nothing other than a trick of the Israeli Zionists who wants to continue to colonise [Palestine]. In fact, every time they hold a ceasefire, it has been Zionist Israel that betrayed the agreement", he continued.
Therefore, they will continue to invite and convey to the community not to be inattentive, and not to tire of continuing to voice support and provide assistance. Likewise, encouraging the government to be more pro-active in defending the Palestinian people’s rights.
"Then, to the government, continue to support efforts so that our sisters and brothers in Palestine will soon be at peace, soon be independent, with genuine independence", he said.
Nafis said they hope that Palestinians will gain genuine independence, especially given the many victims that have been killed, injured and fallen in the struggle.
"Give genuine independence to our sisters and brothers in Palestine, because without that they will definitely be colonised. Up until now, especially in the Gaza Strip, there have been 47 thousand or more Muslims who have been killed, 11 thousand people injured, moreover 14,500 thousand children have had to die", he said.
"These are not just numbers, but these are human lives. We have also experienced the same thing in Indonesia, for that we must continue to speak out until our sisters and brothers are free with true independence", he concluded. (pfr/irb)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Massa Aksi Bela Palestina Padati Surabaya, Serukan Dukungan!".]
