INDONESIA'S PARLIAMENT SENDS DELEGATION TO GAZA TO SUPPORT PALESTINE by Fardah

    Jakarta, Nov 24, 2012 (ANTARA) - Since Israeli aggression in Gaza began earlier this month, a number of Indonesian cities have seen daily rallies organized by Muslim and students organizations to protest the Zionist air strikes that killed many Palestinian children and women.

         Most of the Indonesian protestors urged the government and the United Nations to take concrete steps to stop recent Israeli air strikes on Gaza and help the Gaza people.

         Concrete action is currently being demonstrated by the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission I by sending a delegation to Gaza to provide moral, material and political support to Palestine.

         "Thank God, we are making final preparations for entry to Gaza. Despite the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the Indonesian embassy in Cairo has advised us to be careful," Muhammad Najib, a member of the delegation, told ANTARA via e-mail on November 24, 2012.  
    The Indonesian parliamentarians will enter Gaza from Egypt. Najib also said Indonesia wants to see lasting peace in Palestine, rather than a temporary ceasefire.

         The Indonesian delegation includes a number of NGO activists who will deliver assistance of food, medicine and money to the Palestinian people.

         The lawmakers are also expected to meet 28 Indonesian volunteers who are building a hospital in North Gaza. Despite the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the volunteers have decided to stay on and continue their work.

         The peace mission from the Indonesian Parliament is heading to Palestine for a visit that will include meeting with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

         The Indonesian MPs, who will be accompanied by Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi in the meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, will convey two messages to President Abbas.

         The messages include Indonesia's support for Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations (UN) and the urgency for Fatah and Hamas to unite in order to strengthen Palestine's struggle against Israel diplomatically or on the battle field.

         "The support to Palestine is important because President Abbas has been pressured and threatened by many parties to abort his intention to apply for UN membership for the second time," Najib stated.

         The Indonesian parliamentary delegation is believed to be the first non-Arab country's delegation to visit Gaza following the ceasefire.

         According to media reports, around 70 percent of the total 141 deaths and over 900 people who were injured, are women and children, following recent Israeli military attacks.

         During the Israeli air strikes on Gaza from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, 1,380 Palestinians were killed and 5,380 wounded. Most of the victims were also children and women.

         In demanding concrete actions to assist the Palestinian people, there are basically two groups in Indonesia. One group is urging the Indonesian government to send a peacekeeping mission to Gaza and the other is those asking the sending of Indonesian military troops to help Palestinians in their fight against the Israeli military.

         Following the announcement of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) in Jakarta on November 22, 2012 urged the Indonesian government to send a peacekeeping mission to Gaza.

         "Indonesia does not need to use a military approach in Gaza, but it should send peacekeeping troops under the United Nations to monitor the ceasefire," ICMI chairman Nanat Fatah Natsir told the media.

         He stated that the United Nations must monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas "to ensure that no party breaches the agreement".

         "The UN should send a peacekeeping mission and Indonesia should send a military contingent under the mission," Nanat added.

    Earlier, in Semarang, Central Java, some 300 members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in Semarang city, Central Java province, volunteered to go to Gaza to defend the Palestinians against Israel.

         The volunteers, joining together under Indonesian Volunteers for Gaza, have mastered martial arts and received blessings from their family members to go to Gaza, said Amir Darmanto, from the Central Java Chapter of PKS, on November 21, 2012
    They are physically and mentally ready to face the battlefield because they have received martial arts training, he noted.

         Besides, the group includes medical professionals, builders, mechanics, chefs and drivers. They can provide assistance to Palestinians in various ways, Darmanto explained.

         The PKS members also expressed hope that the government would facilitate their departure to Gaza.

         He also said that the Indonesian government should provide concrete assistance to the Palestinian people, rather than rhetorical support.

         At a protest rally held recently, members of the group trampled an Israeli flag and later burned it.

         In Bandung, West Java, several members of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) staged a rally on November 19, 2012, denouncing the Israeli aggression and  urging the Indonesian government to send troops to Gaza.

         "Our country has around 45,000 soldiers. Therefore, we urge the government to take concrete actions to stop the (Israeli) attacks. The most effective way is by sending troops to the Gaza Strip," said Luthfi Afandi, spokesman of the West Java HTI chapter.

         According to Luthfi, only by sending troops to Gaza can the Israeli attacks be stopped. He also believes that sending troops to Gaza will protect Palestinians.

         "Most of the victims are women and children," he added.

         He urged President Yudhoyono to begin sending troops from Muslim countries to Gaza.

         Since Indonesia has the highest Muslim population in the world, it can encourage other Muslim countries to send troops to Gaza, he said.

         Also in Bandung, students from the Alliance of Youths and Students for Palestine, when holding an anti-Israeli rally, urged the government to push the United Nations and other countries in the world to take concrete actions to stop Israeli aggression.

         "We condemn the Israeli aggression on the people of Palestine. These acts of violence are committed by Zionists and criminals," said Arif Gunawan, coordinator of the rally.

         "Besides, we also denounce the US for providing direct support to Israel, a state which has committed crimes against humanity," he said.

         The students have collected money, which will be donated to the people of Palestine.    
    The need to take concrete action to stop violence against Palestine was also voiced by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama (Banser NU) in Waykanan district, Lampung province, Sumatra Island, recently.

         "The United Nations must do something quickly to stop the violence," said Benyamin Sidik, the head of the MUI Waykanan.

         "Concrete steps are needed to stop this. However, as long as the US is supporting Israel, it will continue like this," he pointed out.

         "If the US stops supporting Israel, the problem will be solved," Sidik added.

         Meanwhile, Ridwan LB from Banser NU stated that the Israeli aggression was inhuman and repressive and therefore deserved condemnation.

         Recently, in Jakarta, hundreds of HMI activists staged rallies at three locations - the Indonesian foreign affairs ministry, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the US embassy - protesting the Israeli aggression in Gaza.

         They demanded that the Indonesian government take concrete steps to resume peace in Palestine.  Twelve HMI activists, including its chairman, were detained by police, but released the following day.

         On November 23, thousands of people staged a rally outside the US Embassy in Jakarta to protest Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.

         The demonstrators are members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), and the Solidarity for Palestinian Liberation also joined the rally.

         "Israel, go to hell. Save Palestine," they chanted.

         Earlier, also in Jakarta, a number of students from the State Islamic University (UIN) of Syarif Hidayatullah staged a demonstration at the pedestrian bridge in Sarinah, Central Jakarta, to express their support for the Palestinian people.

         Ahmad Wahyudi, the rally's coordinator, said on Wednesday that Israel had committed a crime against humanity by killing innocent civilians, including babies and women, in Gaza.

         The Israeli air strikes on Gaza are a gross violation of human rights, he pointed out.  
    "Such brutal action is obviously against humanity. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Chapter 3, it is stated that everyone has the right to life," Wahyudi added.

         The protestors were carrying a large banner that read "Everyone Has the Right to Life. Stop Invasion of Palestine". ***1***
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