Aat Surya Safaat: Palestinian Children Need International Attention
Jakarta, MINA – A Senior journalist, Aat Surya Safaat said Palestinian children now need international attention because they are experiencing continuous cruelty by Israeli forces occupiers.
“Therefore, I invite my friends to the media to continue to encourage the rescue of Al-Quds children to the international world,” he told the press in Jakarta on Monday, March 2.
The press conference related to the rescue of Palestinian Children is organized by the Indonesian Alliance for the Defense of Children of Al-Quds which is a coalition of several NGOs concerned with humanitarian issues in Palestine, including the humanitarian organization of Aqsa Working Group (AWG) and the Women’s Struggle for Al-Aqsa and Palestine Maemuna Center (Mae_C).
Other speakers at the press conference are Secretary General of the Indonesian Alliance for the Defense of Children of Al-Quds, Maimon Herawati, Head of Education and Information of the National Committee for the Palestinian People (KNRP) Muhammad Syarief, Chairman of the Khadeejati Foundation Peggy Melati Sukma, and Secretary General of Adara Relief International Sri Vira Chandra.
Quoting the Indonesian Alliance of Defending the Children of Al Quds, Aat said that at least two thousand Palestinian children have died in the last two decades, and during 2019 the Israeli invaders killed 33 children and abducted 745 Palestinian children to Israeli prisons.
The News Director or Editor-in-Chief of the 2016-2017 National News Agency (LKBN) further stated that the media in Indonesia and internationally must not be silent about it is very worrying humanitarian problem.
He specifically, highlighted the importance of the mass media in voicing and campaigning for the rescue of Palestinian children who were virtually ignorant of political affairs in their homeland.
The existence and role of the mass media is considered very important in shaping world opinion for saving young people in Palestine, as the only country in the world that has not been free from colonialism since the implementation of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955.
“Imagine, Vietnam used to be able to win against America because of the power of the media. At that time, many young people from among the American military fell victim to the atrocities of the war, so thanks to the media’s opinion then the United States stopped its war against Vietnam,” he said.
The recipient of “Press Card Number One” on the National Press Day in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, February 9, 2020, stated that journalists should now be able to do the same thing, namely to stop Israeli atrocities against Palestinian children.
He considered the mass media could play a role in “second track diplomacy” to encourage large and influential countries such as America, Russia, and China to stop Israeli atrocities against Palestinian children.
One of the founders of the Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), a news agency that broadcasts news in Indonesian, English, and Arabic also revealed the formation of the International Muslim Media Alliance or IMMA (International Muslim Media Alliance) on May 26, 2016 in Jakarta.
“One of the goals of forming an international media alliance is to fight negative news about Palestine. But the role of the alliance for the exchange and quotation of the Islamic world news seems to be ineffective, ” said the Indonesian Legal Facts Media Advisor (FHI) and the Competency Test Assessors for the PWI Journalists.
He also stressed that the Palestinian issue is a humanitarian issue, not merely a religious issue. Because when it comes to Palestine, there are three religions, namely Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
“Not just journalists, in this digital age anyone, in every pen, laptop, cellphone or in any room where we can write, then write about saving Palestinian children. The power of writing in the social era is more influential than military weapons, “he added.
Especifically, about Indonesia’s role in defending Palestine, recalled the words of the Palestinian Prime Minister in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya who had stated that there were currently two gifts from Indonesia for Palestine, namely the Indonesian Hospital in the Gaza Strip and the presence of Islamic News Agency (MINA).
The event was also attended by journalists from the Alliance of Indonesian Muslim Journalists and Secretary General of the Great Mathla’ul Anwar (PBMA) Oke Setiadi. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
