REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEHERAN – About 110 activists joined in Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) were heading for Turkey overland on Tuesday via Qazvin, Zanjan, and Tabriz, Nashih Nasrullah of Republika reported from Iran. The team went to the country after staying in Tehran for four days. 

In Tehran, the members attended several welcoming program and held oration in several places, such as Azadi National Monument. The warm welcome came from public and official. The activists were also greeted by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Chairman of the Parliament Ali Larijani, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Velayati.

One of the Iranian GMJ members, Rohullah Rizvi, said the departure was late due to visa arrangement in Turkish Embassy in Iran. Several delegations failed to obtain visa to Turkey. Most of the state agencies in Teheran is on holiday following Iranian New Year.

The team insisted to go to anticipate the delay and they would apply for the visa in the nearest immigration of Iran-Turkey border. The team will join other activists from Ankara and Istanbul. The time needed to reach Turkey from Teheran is two days and two nights. 

Notes: 

GMJ is a global movement aims at drawing supports from all over the world to Palestinian causes. GMJ's of North American mentioned in its official site, "the movement aims to oppose Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing, to demand access to Jerusalem for all peoples, and to uphold Palestinian rights under international law, including refugees' right of return."

The message in GMJ's offical site writes, "We, the Advisory Board of the Global March to Jerusalem, are alarmed and deeply troubled by the continuing repression of Palestinians in Jerusalem and by the deliberate and systematic attempts to expel and reduce the Christian and Muslim Palestinian population of the city as part of the policy called 'Judaisation,' which is being applied to every part of historic Palestine..."

Among members of the Advisory Board of the Global March to Jerusalem are some prominent figures at international level and from different faiths, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu (a Nobel Peace Laureate), George Galloway (former Member of British Parliament and Founder of Viva Palestina), Louis Vitale (Order of Franciscan Monks; Pace e Bene; nonviolent resistor), Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb (Jewish Renewal Movement), and dozens others. 

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