Jordan Times
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Chanting Allah Akbar, or “God is Great,” protesters, who marched from the Professional Associations Complex to the United Nations headquarters in Amman, demanded Arab government spare no efforts to support the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain their lands.
The protesters called on the government to sever ties with Israel and shut down its embassy in Amman.
Holding Jordanian flags and banners denouncing Israeli occupation of Palestine, they also called on the Arab governments to “end their silence” and “take action” against Israel.
“This is the least we can do to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are until today suffering from such a tragedy,” head of the Professional Associations Council, Hashem Gharaybeh told The Jordan Times.
Addressing the crowd, Islamic Action Front Party Secretary General Hamzah Mansour called on all Arabs to support Palestinian refugees' right of return to their homes.
He also urged Arab governments to boycott the United States for its flagrant bias towards Israel.
In addition, Mansour called on Arabs to denounce and reject US economic sanctions imposed last week on Syria, stressing that “they are unjust.”
The US imposed sanctions on Syria last week for allegedly supporting terrorism and failing to stop insurgents crossing the border to fight US forces occupying Iraq.
Mansour also hailed the Iraqi resistance against the US-led forces in Iraq, saying “it is the only way to remove occupation from Jordan's eastern neighbour.”
The march was organised by a coalition grouping the country's 14 professional associations as well as opposition parties.
Security forces monitored the one-hour event, which ended peacefully.