(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 (KUNA) -- A large number of Malaysian journalists and political activists staged a demonstration at 'Dataran Merdeka' (the Independence Square) in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday evening in solidarity with Anas Al-Sharif and other martyrs of journalism in Palestine.
Al-Sharif - a reporter of Al-Jazeera news network, was killed alongside several other colleagues in a targeted Israeli attack near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City last week.
The protest, organized by several direct action organizations under the slogan of "Southeast Asia united for Palestine," gathered press people, advocates for boycotting Israel, political activists and sympathizers with the Palestinian people, said Kamal Arif - one of the lobbyists.
"Despite the geographic distance between Malaysia and Palestine, our hearts go out to the Palestinian people, particularly the residents of Gaza Strip who undergo atrocities and genocide at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces," he said in statements to KUNA.
"It's our duty to speak for the Palestinian martyrs of the press and get their voices heard around the globe, and prove that the Israeli occupation authorities and their supporters will never be able to silence us," Arif stressed.
"We will continue speaking out against the atrocities in Palestine and supporting the just cause of the Palestinian people," he vowed.
Mohammad Hakim, an activist, said today's stand aimed to pay tribute to the "heroes of journalism," who sacrificed their lives for conveying truth and uncovering the brutalities being committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian civilians.
"Without the heroic efforts of those journalists, the world wouldn't know the ordeal of the Palestinian people," he pointed out.
"The fact that more than 270 press people were killed by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine over the past one and a half years requires a decisive stand from the international community.
"This huge number of victims of the profession has no parallel in modern history," he added.
A female organizer of the protest read the last will of Anas Al-Sharif where he pledged to pursue his job and convey the reality of what was going on in Gaza whatever the price he might pay.
The protesters raised banners in Malay and English calling for stopping the bloodshed in Gaza, protection of press people, liberation of Palestine and fall of Israel. (end)
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