Amien calls for combined effort against terrorism

JAKARTA (JP): Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais urged on Thursday the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia and New Zealand to work hand in hand in fighting terrorism, as Muslim students intensified their protests against any U.S. military strikes against Afghanistan.

"International terrorist networks are so solid and are backed up by such skilled operators that these countries need to work together to fight them," Amien said during a meeting with Australian Minister of Defense Peter Reith in Canberra, as quoted by Antara.

Such collaboration in fighting terrorism was needed to preempt terrorist threats and attacks against countries in the Asia- Pacific region, said Amien, who was leading a group of legislators on a working visit to Australia.

"Last week, the United States was the terrorists' target, but in the future one of the countries in this region could be their target," he said.

During the meeting, Amien touched on U.S. President George W. Bush's statement that last week's terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would prompted a new phase of war against terrorism.

Amien noted that he believed Bush's statement could be misinterpreted by terrorists because, in international relations, conflicts between or among countries should first be dealt with through diplomacy.

If the diplomatic channels failed to resolve the conflict, then war might be the answer, he said.

"If war breaks out, the targets must be troops and military facilities, not civilians or civilian facilities. If the latter became the targets, it would be in violation of the Geneva Convention and they would be committing crimes against humanity," he explained.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, about 200 Muslim women demonstrated in front of the UN office to show their repudiation of terrorism and also their disagreement with any U.S. plan to attack Afghanistan, which Washington has accused of harboring suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Grouped in the Muslim Women's Sisterhood (Muslimah) organization, they condemned terrorism, saying it only caused suffering, especially among innocent women and children.

"Terrorism and other forms of violence only cause the destruction of civilization," said Nani Handayani, the rally leader.

Holding up placards with messages like "Say No to Terrorism, Save Civilians" and "Create a Peaceful World", the group dispersed peacefully after presenting a written statement to the UN mission.

In North Sumatra's capital Medan and East Java's capital Surabaya, student activists also took to the streets to condemn any U.S.-led war against Afghanistan.

Dozens of students from the Medan State University, Medan Regional University and the North Sumatra State Islamic Teaching Institute grouped together in the Indonesian Students' Solidarity organization, marched to the U.S. consulate general on Jl. Kesawan at the end of their demonstration after rallying at the local offices of TVRI state television and the provincial legislative council.

The students unfurled banners warning that "Islam Must not be Labeled Terrorist" and "Attack on Afghanistan Means World War III".

Rally coordinator Rahmat Syarif threatened they would launch a holy war (jihad) against the U.S. if America proceeded with its planned strike on Afghanistan in the name of fighting terrorism.

"We condemn the brutal attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, but the tragic incident must not be used as an excuse for attacking Afghanistan," he said.

The rally was aimed at providing moral support to President Megawati Soekarnoputri who is on a visit to the U.S., and to urge the government not to back America's plan to attack Afghanistan.

About 50 student activists from the Islamic Students' Association marched to the U.S. consulate on Jl. Dr Soetomo to protest any strike against Afghanistan.

Fathul, the rally coordinator, said the planned strike on Afghanistan would constitute an assault on Muslims based on the spurious grounds of capturing Osama bin Laden.

During the tightly-guarded rally, the protesters demanded that the U.S. abort any plans to attack Afghanistan, and thoroughly investigate the terrorist attacks to find out who were really responsible. (nur/42)