MORE THAN 150 NGO REPS PROTEST CLINTON'S REMARKS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Over 150 representatives of
non-governmental organisations held a procession to the United States
Embassy here to present a note protesting against the statement made by US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which criticised the humanitarian flotilla
mission to Gaza.

The procession was organised by the Crisis Management Team Life Line For
Gaza and joined by the Islamiah Al-Ehsan Welfare Organisation and Aman Malaysia,
among others.

Life Line for Gaza secretary Hishamuddin Hashim said that Islamiah Al-Ehsan
Welfare Organisation president Muhammad Ridhwan Sulaiman handed the note of
protest to the embassy regional security officer Leeds Timothy.

In her remarks at the State Department on June 23, Clinton said: "We do not
believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the
people of Gaza. Just this week, the Israeli government approved a significant
commitment to housing in Gaza.

"There will be construction materials entering Gaza and we think that it’s
not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering
into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the
right to defend themselves."

Hishamuddin said that Clinton's remark against the second mission to Gaza
was an unnecessary provocation.

-- BERNAMA