Iran Press/ Africa: As the war is escalating in Gaza and killings are still ongoing, in Senegal members of civil society organizations are intensifying pressure on the government for more concrete actions in solidarity with Palestine.
Among the leaders who have taken the initiative to write an open letter to Senegal's new president to end diplomatic relations with Israel, Pr Bouba Diop in an exclusive interview with Iran Press in Dakar said: "There is a hope that among the leaders that some individuals who are endorsing the Palestinian cause are special advisers to the country's leader. We took a different initiative and wrote an open letter and we will continue to protest. We haven't yet gotten an answer from the government but I hope because some of my colleagues have been appointed special advisers to the president of the Republic."
"Members of our committee are in a good position and I hope within some weeks or months we will get a clear position from the government concerning this issue to stop any relation with Israel", he stated. The university lecturer also condemned the fact that the massacre continued in Gaza.
"We have a statement from a very important institution at the international level- the International Court of Justice, Human Rights organizations. This is a turning point in the struggle. So we have to continue to push to readapt our strategy. For example, I have proposed to my colleagues to go to the local UN headquarters here for a massive protest rally to support Palestinians," he added.
This matters to us. Senegal is in a good position because we can recall it here in Dakar at Gorée island that took place the acceleration for the end of Apartheid in South Africa a few decades ago. So we can continue our tradition of supporting oppressed people from Dakar to Djibouti, from Dakar to Cape Town. Senegal has always played a strategic role.
I asked my colleagues to organize a great debate with historians, lawyers, and cultural activists on the Palestinian issue here at Gorée island- near Dakar Senegal's capital city".
'We should continue boycotting Israeli products at the individual level but more interestingly at national and international levels'- Professor Bouba Diop a Senegalese historianTaking about the Olympic games underway in Paris the lecturer outlines his disappointment." I was very disappointed watching Mali playing against Israel in football in Paris. I like soccer but am unable to accept playing against Israel. We shouldn't act like we are in a normal situation. I was very upset by this act during the Olympic games. But I am not surprised as a historian knowing the origin of the new games. So we should continue boycotting Israel at the individual level but more interestingly at national and international levels like it was the case concerning Apartheid", he emphasized.
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