JAKARTA, 22 July 2006 — Thousands of Muslims in Asia held angry protests yesterday against Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon, denouncing the Jewish state and demanding the United Nations take action to halt the violence.
Protesters in Indonesia and Malaysia accused the Jewish state of terrorism.
Malaysia’s foreign minister, who will next week host a gathering of his Southeast Asian counterparts and meetings due to include US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urged a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.
“We don’t want an expansion of the crisis, we want a cease-fire...we want to see a more balanced and just world,” Syed Hamid Albar told reporters.
The conflict would be discussed at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Kuala Lumpur next week, he said.
“Unless this matter is arrested quickly and addressed in an appropriate manner, I think we are going to see human carnage and human suffering expanding,” the foreign minister said.
Protesters gathered across Asia yesterday after traditional Islamic prayers.
In Jakarta, about 300 people blocked traffic at a key road junction in the Indonesian capital waving banners and Palestinian flags.
“We condemned the attack by Israel on Palestinian territories and Lebanon,” protest organizer Nana Juhana said. “Israel should stop the atrocities against civilians in Lebanon and Gaza Strip.”
A similar protest involving about 500 people was held in Ambon, a city in central Indonesia, which is home to more Muslims than any other country.
In Malaysia’s largest city, hundreds of protesters, many of them linked to the ruling party, rallied outside the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, chanting, “Destroy Israel, down with Israel.” Demonstrators set afire about one dozen Israeli flags.
Activists handed US officials a memorandum demanding the UN Security Council take action to stop Israel’s bombardment.
Anti-riot police and a truck with a water cannon mounted on it guarded the embassy, but took no action.
“We demand the UN Security Council pass a resolution to stop Israeli atrocities. This is nothing short of murder and genocide,” said Khairy Jamaluddin, the deputy leader of the ruling party’s youth wing and an organizer of the protest.
“Israel is a terrorist state and it must be brought to justice,” said Khairy, who is also the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The demonstrators also delivered a protest memorandum to officials at the British and French embassies before dispersing peacefully when rain put a premature end to their march.
Police said some 1,500 protesters took part while organizers put the number above 3,000. The hard-line opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) said it also held demonstrations yesterday at mosques in Kuala Lumpur and across the country.
The head of the ruling party’s youth wing, Salahuddin Ayub, called on Malaysia to cancel an invitation to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is expected to attend Asia’s top security forum in Kuala Lumpur next week.
“I think this is the first step that needs to be taken by the government to show that we strongly protest what’s happening in the Mideast to our Palestinian brothers and Lebanon,” he said.
Mainly Muslim Malaysia, which is currently chairing the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), has condemned Israel’s actions as excessive.
