Jordan Times
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Thousands of citizens protest ‘terror attack'
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh, Jordan Times
AMMAN, March 23 - Thousands of citizens, including senior officials and lawmakers, took to the streets in Amman on Monday to condemn Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
Cabinet ministers, deputies, Islamists and political activists led around 7,000 protesters through downtown streets following afternoon prayers. Holding banners reading “Sharon you are doomed,” and “Yassin your death is a rebirth of this nation” and chanting “We are all Ahmad Yassin,” the crowds called on the government to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with the Jewish state and expel its ambassador.
Angry demonstrations were also held around the Baqaa and Wihdat refugee camps.
“We demand Arab governments to support the Palestinians and to take real action against Israelis instead of just meeting in summits,” said a woman protester in downtown. “No more words. We need action. We should fight and regain our usurped land,” she added. “Armed struggle is the solution.”
Minister of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Daoudiyeh denounced the attack.
“Our message is that all of Jordan is united in denouncing this heinous crime and state terrorism,” said Daoudiyeh, marching with Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Salah Bashir, Minister of Labor Amjad Majali, and Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader.
Islamic Action Front Secretary General Hamzeh Mansour described the assassination as “a vile terrorist crime,” that will not stop Palestinians from fighting for their rights. He demanded an immediate end to all forms of normalization with Israel to avoid provoking public sentiment.
In Baqaa and Wihdat, schools and shops were closed as thousands marched through the streets. Some 3,000 people roamed the narrow streets of Baqaa, the largest refugee camp in Jordan, carrying a coffin as a symbol of Yassin's death. The demonstrators condemned Israel's continued aggression against the Palestinians and denounced the US for supporting the “terrorist state.”
Protesters called on Hamas' military wing, the Izzedine Al Qassam Brigades to avenge the killing of the spiritual leader. Another 1,000 people joined a sit-in at the Professional Associations Complex, carrying black flags as a sign of mourning.
Political parties and human rights organizations also denounced the assassination of
Yassin.