Filipino activists and civil society groups together with refugees held a solidarity candlelight vigil in front of the Commission on Human Rights Headquarters along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, with streamers and placards slamming to condemn the ongoing Israel’s brutal occupation that killed thousands of Palestinians in the face of heightened air and ground assaults brought by the military conflicts in the bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Similar protests were held in various countries in Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan, as they also advocated for sustained peace and an end to the decades-long conflict of 76 years of Israeli occupation, apartheid, and settler colonialism. These Asia-wide vigils, led by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) were held on the same day that Spain, Norway, and Ireland officially joined 140 other countries in recognizing an independent Palestinian state, the latest in a series of mounting international backlash against Israel.
Apart from their call for an immediate permanent ceasefire, the protesters also urged for “an end to the blockade in Gaza, an end to apartheid in Palestine, and giving the Palestinian people their inalienable right to self-determination, independence, and sovereignty” as the International Court of Justice ordered last May 24, 2024, to Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the city of Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering after seven months of bombardment. Photos by Jann Bonifacio
