RI hails Iran's 'democratic' election<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Indonesia on Saturday praised Iran for its "democratic"
\npresidential election but stopped short of commenting on the
\nvictory of hardline former Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad.<\/p>\n
"The people of Iran deserve to be congratulated for the
\ntremendous show of support for a democratic electoral process,"
\nforeign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told AFP.<\/p>\n
"As governance beckons, we are confident that we can continue
\nto rely on Iran as a force for peace, stability and moderation in
\nthe region and beyond," he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country but an
\noverwhelming majority of its people follow the Sunni branch of
\nIslam while Iran is Shiite.<\/p>\n
Some observers see the election of Ahmadinejad, a self-
\nproclaimed fundamentalist seeking a return to the moral "purity"
\nof the early years of the Islamic revolution, could set the
\nIslamic republic on a collision course with the West. -- AFP<\/p>",
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"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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