INDONESIA: MUSLIMS ORGANISE ANTI-ISRAELI PROTEST ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Jakarta, 18 April (AKI) - The Indonesian Justice and Prosperity party (PKS) - a rapidly growing Islamic-based political party which won significant support in last year's parliamentary elections - organised a peaceful anti-Israeli protest across several Indonesian cities. Around 80,000 Muslim Indonesians marched peacefully through the main streets of Jakarta, protesting against what they called the 'Israeli oppression of Palestinians', chanting anti-Israeli slogans and branding Israel as the terrorist. In last October's general elections, PKS took seven percent of the vote, compared to 1.9 percent in 1999. It supports the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudyohono.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Jakarta, carrying banners carried with slogans such as "The US, Israel are the terrorists". They called on the American government to end all support to the Israelis.
In Aceh, Indonesia's troubled province hit by the December tsunami, protestors trampled on Israeli flags while waving Palestinian ones. Protesters called for the protection of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews.
The protest came one week after Israeli extremists threatened to storm al-Aqsa mosque to protest Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza strip scheduled for July. Israeli troops and police are expected to evacuate around 9,000 settlers from the area.
Last week, a Hamas leader, called on the "entire Muslim world" to protect the mosque sa around 10,000 Palestinians circled the mosque to form a human shield against Israeli ultra-nationalists.
Indonesia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and there are periodic potests against the Jewish state. The latest protest comes a few days before the African-Asian summit to be held in Jakarta later this week. Support for Palestinians will be on the agenda at the meeting.
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