JAKARTA: Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Jakarta on Sunday in Indonesia’s biggest display of solidarity with Palestine since the start of Israel’s deadly onslaught on Gaza.
Indonesia has been a staunch supporter of Palestine for decades, with its authorities and people seeing Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which demands the abolition of colonialism.
Since the start of Israeli operations in Gaza since on October 7, Indonesians have been taking to the streets in demonstrations to show their support, with activists declaring November as Palestine Solidarity Month.
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On Sunday morning, Indonesians dressed in white and wore traditional Palestinian scarves as they crowded the National Monument square in the capital, waving Palestinian flags, carrying posters and banners, and chanting slogans demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and a free Palestine, making it the biggest pro-Palestine protest the country has seen so far.
The Indonesian Ulema Council arranged the interfaith rally with the support of other main religious groups, including Christians and Buddhists. It was attended by government officials as well as prominent public figures, including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Marsudi said that every 10 minutes, a child is martyred in Gaza. Thousands of parents have lost their kids, while thousands of children have lost their parents.
Indonesia Fully Supports Palestine
Marsudi said that she and Indonesia will never back down from helping. Indonesia will be with Palestinians until the colonizers leave their homes.
The Southeast Asian country has no diplomatic ties with Israel, and the Indonesian government has repeatedly demanded an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories and a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders.
Over 9,400 Palestinians have been martyred in Gaza since October 7, when Israel launched its daily bombardment of the densely populated enclave.
Israel has cut off fuel, water, food, and power supplies to the enclave, while airstrikes have targeted hospitals, ambulances, refugee camps, and schools.
