Muslim figures convey RI's Iraq view to Howard<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Muslim intellectuals conveyed on Saturday to visiting Australian
\nPrime Minister John Howard the Indonesian people's strong
\nrejection of the planned use of military force to disarm Iraq.<\/p>\n
During their meeting with Howard here on Saturday, the Muslim
\nintellectuals warned that Australian support for the United
\nStates and Britain to attack Iraq would strain bilateral ties
\nbetween the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"Our stance is clear that we oppose the possible war on Iraq
\nbecause it will certainly bring a major humanitarian tragedy to
\nthe Iraqi people. We believe there is a peaceful solution to end
\nthe Iraq crisis,\" Andi Djamaro of the largest Muslim organization
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU) said.<\/p>\n
Australia has deployed some 2,000 military personnel to
\nsupport the U.S. force to make preparations for their attack on
\nBaghdad.<\/p>\n
Azyumardi Azra, rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Academy of
\nIslamic Studies (IAIN) in Ciputat, South Jakarta, said that there
\nwould be further consequences to the two countries' bilateral
\nties following the antiwar rallies that were also staged in
\nprotest of Australia's participation in the war on Iraq.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of health workers staged an antiwar demonstration in
\nfront of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta to
\ngreet Howard. The demonstration was also held to join the global
\nmove on Friday to oppose the U.S.' planned attack on Iraq.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has seen a wave of rallies over the last three weeks,
\nopposing the United States' possible attack on Iraq.<\/p>\n
Religious leaders shunned the scheduled meeting with Howard
\nand instead brought the Indonesian people's aspirations to the
\nAustralian people. An Indonesian delegation led by NU Chairman
\nHasyim Muzadi is currently in Australia to convey their
\nopposition directly to the Australian people. On Monday,
\nNurcholish Madjid will lead another religious delegation to bring
\nthe same mission to the European Union.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish and Solahuddin Wahid, the deputy chairman of NU,
\nwere in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, to attend a dialog
\nwith the province's local figures on the nation's future while
\nSyafi'i Maarif was in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Former foreign minister Alwi Shihab suggested that France,
\nGermany and Russia which are opposed to the planned attack on
\nIraq bring a diplomatic mission to Iraq to persuade Iraqi
\nPresident Saddam Hussein to step down and appoint his successor
\nafter disarmament by the UN inspection team.<\/p>\n
\"They could ask Saddam to pick a new leader for Iraq and leave
\nthe presidential seat as a hero to avert war for the sake of
\nhumanity,\" Alwi said.<\/p>\n
Howard met with the Muslim intellectuals after holding
\nofficial talks with President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State
\nPalace. During the meeting the two heads of state also discussed
\nthe Iraq crisis and Megawati also conveyed the Indonesian
\npeople's opposition to war on Iraq to her Australian counterpart.<\/p>\n
Playing down the conflicting stance of the two countries,
\nMegawati said in a joint press conference after the meeting that
\nboth countries hoped for a peaceful solution for Iraq through the
\nUnited Nations.<\/p>\n
Howard, however, defended his government's stance on the Iraq
\ncrisis, warning that Saddam, who was closely linked to global
\nterrorism, could give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
\"I explained Australia's concern about the spread of chemical,
\nbiological and nuclear weapons and my real concern that these
\nweapons might find their way into the hands of terrorists,\" he
\nsaid in the joint press conference.<\/p>\n
\"Our concern about Iraq is a concern based on Iraq's behavior
\nas an individual nation and those who seek to depict our approach
\nas in any way anti-Islamic are not telling the truth,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has repeatedly expressed its objection to the
\nplanned attack to Washington, London and Canberra. It has said
\nthat it would support any actions to disarm Iraq with UN
\napproval.<\/p>\n
At the press conference Howard also thanked the Indonesian
\ngovernment and people for their great cooperation in the
\ninvestigation into the Bali bombing.<\/p>\n
\"I came here to personally thank Madam President, the national
\npolice and other officials for a clearly impressive, professional
\nand effective investigation that has been carried out,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Howard also announced that the Australian government would
\nprovide US$6.2 million in financial aid for Sanglah Hospital in
\nBali. The hospital treated most of those injured in the blast on
\nOct. 12.<\/p>\n
Howard made his seventh visit here as part of his Washington
\nand London journey on the Iraq issue, expressing the Australian
\ngovernment's good intentions to avoid possible strained ties
\nshould war break out in Iraq.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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