Thousands stage noisy anti-American protest<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About 4,000 students and young Moslems staged a
\nnoisy but peaceful demonstration outside the American embassy
\nhere yesterday, condemning Washington for vetoing a pro-
\nPalestinian draft resolution at the United Nations.<\/p>\n
But while the protest proceeded in an orderly manner, over in
\nYogyakarta a smaller protest on the campus of Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity campus burnt American and Israeli flags.<\/p>\n
The demonstration in Jakarta was one of the biggest seen in
\nthe Indonesian capital in recent years. The handful of anti-riot
\npolice officers stationed outside the embassy were far too
\noutnumbered to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n
Jl. Merdeka Selatan, where the embassy is located, was blocked
\nduring the one-hour demonstration. There were no arrests and the
\nprotesters dispersed voluntarily after three of their leaders
\nwere received by embassy officials to present a statement.<\/p>\n
None of the major Moslem organizations usually identified with
\nsuch protests claimed responsibility.<\/p>\n
The students, who came from at least four universities, called
\nthemselves the Front Against Zionist Israel. They arrived in two
\ngroups. The male students came from the direction of the Gambir
\nrailway station while the female students, all wearing Moslem
\nveils, came from the opposite direction.<\/p>\n
Chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and singing patriotic
\nsongs, they unfurled banners and waved placards condemning the
\nUnited States and Israel. One banner read \"The U.S. is the slave
\nof Zionist Israel\" while another said \"The U.S. has caused the
\nemergence of all criminal activities in the world\".<\/p>\n
They also shouted \"Khaibar, Khaibar\" in reference to an
\nancient Jewish settlement, Khaibar, which was conquered by the
\nProphet Muhammad in the Hijra year 7.<\/p>\n
\"We are also calling on the U.S. to stop serving the Jewish
\nlobby,\" Teddy Mamesa, one of the protest organizers, said.<\/p>\n
\"U.S., quit your double standard in dealing with the Islamic
\nworld and the developing countries,\" the students chanted.<\/p>\n
They also called for Indonesian solidarity with the
\nPalestinian cause and for the government to use its seat in the
\nSecurity Council more effectively.<\/p>\n
Indonesia was one of the co-sponsors of the UN draft
\nresolution that condemned Israel for expropriating Palestinian
\nland in Jerusalem. Although the resolution had the support of 14
\nof the council's 15 members, it failed to be passed as the United
\nStates used its veto power. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
\nAlatas said on Friday that Indonesia was deeply disappointed at
\nthe United States' move.<\/p>\n
The protest in Yogyakarta yesterday involved more than 200
\nstudents, who called themselves the Moslem Movement Against
\nAmerica's Intervention.<\/p>\n
Other than the burning of the American and Israeli flags and
\nthe angry chants, the protest proceeded without incident.<\/p>\n
Their posters were harsher than those in Jakarta, one reading
\n\"(President Bill) Clinton, an international crook\", another \"We
\nsupport the struggle of Palestinian people\", and a third \"Jews,
\ngo to hell!\".<\/p>\n
Agus Mas'udi, a student of Gadjah Mada University, said the
\nClinton administration's decision to exercise its veto right was
\n\"childish\" with its rationale that \"the Jerusalem question has to
\nbe handled by Israel and Palestine alone, without external
\nparties' intervention\". (swe\/yns\/02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-stage-noisy-anti-american-protest-1447893297",
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