Violence must not beget violence: Mega<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri reiterated on Sunday that
\nIndonesia did not wish to see any country commit violence against
\nanother, even if they were responding to acts of violence
\ncommitted against them.<\/p>\n
\"Violence should not be answered with violence,\" Megawati said
\nin her speech at the commemoration of the Ascension Day of
\nProphet Muhammad at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Whoever commits terror must be punished,\" Megawati said. \"But
\nit is unacceptable that someone, a group or even a government --
\narguing that they are hunting down perpetrators of the terror --
\nattack people or another country for whatever reason,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Even though she did not mention any specific countries in her
\nspeech, the message was clearly directed toward America, which
\nlaunched military strikes against Afghanistan last week for
\nharboring Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, who is accused of
\nmasterminding attacks on the United States last month.<\/p>\n
The terrorist attacks killed at least 5,400 people. Bin Laden
\nis being sheltered by the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Megawati backed the U.S. war on terrorism at a meeting with
\nU.S. President George W. Bush not long after the attacks on the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
She has been criticized for remaining silent while daily
\nprotest have erupted in several Indonesian cities and radical
\ngroups have made threats against Americans, Britons and Japanese
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
After meeting with leaders of the House of Representatives at
\nthe State Palace on Friday, however, Megawati broke her silence,
\npromising that the government would review its \"soft\" stance on
\nthe attacks.<\/p>\n
Megawati's remarks on Sunday were warmly welcomed by various
\nparties in the country, urging that the government follow up with
\nconcrete action.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i Ma'arif, chairman of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-
\nlargest Muslim organization, said on Monday that the government
\nhad taken a step ahead in responding to the crucial issue.<\/p>\n
\"There is a new development in the President's latest
\nstatement, but there will be consequences because of such a
\nstatement,\" Ma'arif told The Jakarta Post from Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
If the U.S. government is not happy with the statement it will
\nhurt the Indonesian economy, which still depends heavily on that
\ncountry, Ma'arif said.<\/p>\n
National Awakening Party (PKB) acting chairman Alwi Shihab
\nalso hailed the statement.<\/p>\n
\"It was delivered in such an elegant manner and I believe that
\nthe message is conveyed to the U.S. government,\" Alwi told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The former foreign minister said it has to be followed with
\ndiplomatic efforts to explain to the international community
\nthat, even though Indonesia supports the fight against
\ninternational terrorism, it must be understood that Indonesia
\nwill not tolerate the loss of innocent civilians' lives, as is
\ncurrently occurring in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Saturday, Vice President Hamzah Haz had called on
\nthe U.S. to stop the bombing over Afghanistan. The statement was
\nmade at the national meeting of the United Development Party
\n(PPP), which is chaired by Hamzah.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) co-chairman Amidhan
\nalso applauded Megawati's statement, saying that it showed her
\nintention to accommodate the aspirations of the Muslim community.<\/p>\n
\"The statement is an expression of her statesmanship. She has
\ntaken the aspirations of the people into serious consideration,\"
\nAmidhan told the Post here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Amidhan, however, suggested that the statement should be
\nfollowed up with diplomatic action through the United Nations.<\/p>\n
\"Through the UN, the government should pressure the United
\nStates to terminate the military strikes on Afghanistan,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Amidhan added that President Megawati should also open
\ndiscourse with various Muslim groups in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Although the President has made a clear statement, that will
\nnot instantly calm down the anti-U.S. rallies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) analyst specializing
\nin Middle Eastern affairs, Riza Sihbudi, said that Megawati's
\nstatement is yet to be regarded as the government's new stance as
\nit had not been delivered through an official government
\nmechanism.<\/p>\n
He said that an official statement should be delivered after
\nbeing deliberated by other Cabinet members.<\/p>\n
Riza said it had also not accommodated the radical groups'
\ndemand, namely severing ties with the U.S..<\/p>\n
\"Megawati is facing a dilemmatic moment. She opted to maintain
\nnational stability by issuing the statement,\" he said, adding
\nthat her decision had shown greater attention to the voice of
\nMuslims, who make up the majority of Indonesia's population.<\/p>",
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