Thousands of Indonesian Muslims burned Israeli flags at a mass prayer rally for Palestinians in the capital, calling Israel "the real terrorist" for its latest offensive in the Palestinian territories and accusing Jakarta of being too weak in its criticism.
Girls in white veils and men in white prayer robes, some wearing the black and white checked headscarf of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, offered prayers and cheered orators who slammed the Israeli military occupation and the Indonesian government's response.
They carried banners proclaiming "Israel is the Real Terrorist," "Save Palestine" and "Palestinians are our brothers" in the fourth pro-Palestinian rally in Jakarta in the past five days. "Jihad for Palestine" was emblazoned on another.
"We condemn Israel's arrogant behaviour. We declare that the real terrorists are Israel," rally coordinator and leader of the Anti-Zionist Israel Movement, Ferry Noer, told reporters. "We implore Indonesians to show their concern for the Palestinians through prayers, donating funds, and even by sending volunteers to help the Palestinians fight," Noer said.
Several militant groups here including the Front for the Defenders of Islam have opened registration for volunteers to fight with the Palestinians. But Jakarta – while condemning the Israeli action – has urged would-be volunteers not to travel to the Palestinian territories to fight against Israel.
The head of the Indonesian Ulemas (Muslim scholars) Council, Din Syamsuddin, called on the government of Megawati Sukarnoputri, however, to take a harsher stance against the Israeli action. "As a sovereign and peace-loving nation, and as the country with the world's largest Muslim population, the government should strongly condemn Israel, but so far it's only taken a mild stance," he told the crowd.
Most of the 5,000 protestors were from the Muslim-based Justice Party (PK). They converged on the city's central National Monument square from the greater Jakarta area and West Java. Dozens of protestors stood in rows carrying enlarged photographs of funerals of Palestinian victims. Others torched Israeli flags by throwing them onto piles of burning tyres.
A PK district leader Igo Ilham said earlier Sunday that while the party would not open registration for pro-Palestinian volunteer fighters, it would not stop members from going. "As a political party, we are neutral [on volunteer fighters]. Those who wish to join the fight physically, please go ahead, but as an institution PK will not send its members there," he told the Satunet online news.
Vice president Hamzah Haz on Friday urged pro-Palestinian sympathisers to offer humanitarian aid and prayers rather than going to the West Bank to fight alongside them. "If people want to register as fighters for Palestine, feel free, but it would be more effective if we provide humanitarian aid and prayer," he was quoted as saying by the state Antara news agency after talks with Palestine ambassador Ribhi Awad.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation with more than 80 percent of its 216 million people following Islam, has no diplomatic ties with Israel.