Chants of ‘Free Palestine’ resonate as crowd gathers outside US embassy

KUALA LUMPUR: Chants of “Free Palestine” and “Down with America” echoed as a form of protest against the blockade of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) mission as a crowd gathered near the United States embassy on Jalan Tun Razak here, on Friday (Oct 3), Sinar Harian reports.

The Malay language daily reported that the crowd, comprising people of various ages and political backgrounds, had begun gathering at around 2:30pm.

A survey by Sinar Harian at the location found participants carrying placards and displaying pictures of Malaysians involved in the GSF mission.

Meanwhile, AstroAwani reported that the embassy had reportedly agreed to accept a protest memorandum concerning the detention of the GSF activists.

The Malay language portal also reported that the memorandum would be delivered by Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (Mapim) president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid, along with several activist leaders.

Previously, on Thursday (Oct 2), a representative from the embassy reportedly refused to accept the protest memorandum from the Finance Minister’s political secretary Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, citing security concerns during a peaceful protest in front of the embassy’s premises, despite police assurances of full control in the area.

The memorandum contains three main demands: the immediate release of all detained volunteers, assurances of safety for unarmed activists, and the rejection of Washington’s proposed Gaza development plan, which is seen as sidelining the voices of the Palestinian people.

Earlier, media reported that 201 humanitarian activists from 36 countries, including 12 Malaysians, participating in the GSF mission were detained by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in a tense incident in international waters early Thursday (Oct 2) morning.