Flag burning arouses anti-Australian sentiments<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Antiforeigner sentiments marked a series of
\ndemonstrations which took place across the capital on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A group of some 200 students from private Sahid University
\nstaged a protest in front of the Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna
\nSaid in South Jakarta. Several of the protesters were able to
\nenter the embassy's compound, where they lowered the Australian
\nflag and raised the Indonesian flag in its place.<\/p>\n
Another group of several hundred protesters from the People's
\nSovereignty and National Unity Struggle staged a demonstration in
\nfront of the United Nations office on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central
\nJakarta, where they burned the UN and Australian flags.<\/p>\n
Chanting the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, the protesters
\nin front of the Australian Embassy said they were retaliating
\nagainst the recent burning of an Indonesian flag in Melbourne,
\nAustralia.<\/p>\n
After entering the embassy's compound and raising an
\nIndonesian flag, the students returned to their campus on Jl.
\nSahardjo in South Jakarta at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
A security officer at the embassy, Haryanto, said a few
\nminutes before the protesters dispersed, an embassy staff member
\ngave him a letter expressing the Australian government's regret
\nover \"recent violent protests within Indonesian consular premises
\nin Australia\".<\/p>\n
At 5.30 p.m, an embassy employee, assisted by two embassy
\nsecurity guards and a local staff member, lowered the Indonesian
\nflag and raised the Australian flag.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the protesters in front of the UN office denounced
\nthe results of the East Timor ballot, accusing the UN Mission in
\nEast Timor (UNAMET) of manipulating the ballot count to favor the
\nproindependence camp.<\/p>\n
Two other groups, the Nationalist Youth Unity and the
\nCommunication Forum of the Children of Veterans of East Timor's
\nSeroja Operation, later joined the protest.<\/p>\n
Separately, some 150 members of the National Mandate for the
\nStruggle of Democracy gathered on Wednesday on the Taman Ria
\nflyover in Central Jakarta to protest military violence in East
\nTimor.<\/p>\n
They demanded President B.J. Habibie and the military be held
\nresponsible for the ongoing massacres in East Timor which
\nfollowed the UN-sponsored ballot on Aug. 30. The demonstration
\nbroke up at 3:40 p.m.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the morning, some 30 East Timorese youths, carrying
\nthe flag of the National Resistance Council for an Independent
\nEast Timor, staged a demonstration in front of the defense
\nministry to demand the military's withdrawal from the territory.<\/p>\n
Unable to meet ministry officials, the demonstrators moved to
\nthe U.S. Embassy, where they called on the U.S. government to
\nendorse the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Separately, members of the Democratic People's Party (PRD)
\nstaged a protest against the House of Representatives'
\ndeliberation of the national security bill.<\/p>\n
\"The bill, if enacted, will be used by the military to
\nsuppress the democratic movement in the country,\" the protesters
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The PRD members attempted to march to the Ministry of Defense,
\nbut were blocked by riot police at the Farmers Monument in
\nCentral Jakarta. (asa\/03\/04\/ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/flag-burning-arouses-anti-australian-sentiments-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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