MUKILTEO, Wash., December 15, 2023—Mukilteo Councilman Riaz Khan is inviting the public to a Ceasefire Peace Rally on Saturday, December 16, from 3 to 4 p.m.
“We all should be praying for humanity and we all should be loving each other,” Councilman Khan wrote in a statement to the Lynnwood Times. “My focus is to bring people together and have peace on this planet. We’re nothing without each other and let’s bring our broken hearts together. Everything is possible and let’s show our integrity to others.”
The rally is to begin at the side of the Bank of America, next to the construction of the Islamic Center of Mukilteo, a mosque, Councilman Khan has been spearheading for just over 10 years. Attendees will march south on Mukilteo Speedway to Beverly Park Road, turnaround and then head back to the construction site of the Islamic Center of Mukilteo.
The rally is to be held almost a week after the United States vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council drafted by the United Arab Emirates that called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Last Friday’s vote followed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ rare invocation of Article 99 on December 6 of the UN charter, to convene an emergency Security Council “to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.
UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward, abstained from the vote saying that she cannot vote for a resolution that “does not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed against innocent Israeli civilians on 7th of October.”
Representatives of France, Oman and China criticized the US for its veto vote.
“The use of the veto at Security Council is a shameful insult to humanitarian norms,” Sayyid Albusaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister said, according to Aljazeera.
The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood defended his vote against the resolution stating that it “was divorced from reality that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way.”
Approximately 1,200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to a park in Los Angeles near a fundraiser for President Joe Biden on December 9 after the veto. They carried an effigy of Biden with devil horns and chanted pro-Hamas slogans. California Governor Gavin Newsom along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hollywood Director Steven Spielberg attended the fundraiser.
Councilman Khan, who is also Vice Chair of the 21st Legislative District Democrats, at the December 4 City Council Meeting, called for the council to pass a ceasefire resolution pertaining to the Gaza-Israeli war that was echoed by Councilman Richard Emery.
2 Responses
There will be a “cease fire” when Hamas is no more. Satisfied?