Jakarta Globe, Putri Prameshwari, April 04, 2010
The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee hopes to move forward with a plan to build a medical facility in the Gaza Strip by entering the conflict area by sea, a founder of the independent health group said on Sunday.
Joserizal Jurnalis said Mer-C had sent an envoy to Turkey for talks with delegations from international nongovernmental organizations regarding the plan to enter Gaza and build a trauma and rehabilitation center.
“We have collected Rp 13 billion [$1.43 million] to build the hospital,” Joserizal told the Jakarta Globe. “Now we are trying to get into the area.”
Joserizal said Mer-C was cooperating with a Turkish humanitarian relief foundation called Insani Yardim Vakfi to get assistance into Gaza. The current plan is to go in by ship.
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have escalated in recent weeks, as warplanes launched strikes on what the military had tagged weapons storage sites.
Teuku Faizasyah, a spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, said it had urged Israel to stop harming civilians with its air raids because it would hamper peace efforts between Israel and Palestine.
“What they did was a violation of international law,” he said. “Israel’s use of military force will leave a great impact on local people.”
Teuku said Indonesia was ready to support any efforts from independent groups to push for peace in Palestine.
Joserizal said Mer-C would use all possible means to build the medical facility in Gaza. The Indonesian government, he said, had agreed to donate Rp 9 billion for its construction. He said the group had met with State Secretary Sudi Silalahi in March to discuss the construction plan.
The design for a trauma and rehabilitation center had been finished, he said.
Permits to enter Gaza, he said, remained the biggest obstacle for the group to build the facility. However, Joserizal said Mer-C and several international NGOs now were planning to acquire a vessel and enter the area by sea.
Last year, Indonesia provided Rp 20 billion to help fund the construction of a new hospital in Gaza.
