Government told to deny Israel's entry to IPU conference
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Muslim students took to streets in the country's two biggest cities on Friday in a show of solidarity to the Palestinian people, whom they said "are being slaughtered" by Israel.
The anti-Israel mood was also expressed by House of Representatives legislator Ahmad Sumargono, who pledged on Friday to urge 500 members of the legislative body to ban the Israeli Knesset delegation from the 104th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference to be hosted by Indonesia next week.
"The DPR (the House) will reject their presence at the IPU conference," Sumargono remarked in a discussion on Palestinian solidarity at Al-Azhar grand mosque in South Jakarta.
Sumargono, the chairman of the Crescent and Star Party (PBB) faction of the House, said the Indonesian administration could deny its Israeli counterpart an entry because there are no ties between the two.
The Knesset reportedly will send nine representatives, including its speaker Avraham Burg, to the six-day IPU conference which starts on Oct. 15.
Sumargono, also leader of the Indonesian Committee for World Muslims Solidarity (KISDI), also called on governments of Islamic countries involved in the conference to reject the Israeli delegation following the death of more than 70 Palestinians during week-long fighting with Israeli troops.
"If the international community supports the attendance of Israel's delegation to the IPU conference, I'm the first person who will boycott it," he was quoted by Antara as saying.
Sumargono's statement came after House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Thursday that he would hold talks with his Knesset counterpart Burg.
Meanwhile, some 400 students from various universities in Greater Jakarta joined an anti-Israel rally on Friday morning at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta.
Carrying banners condemning Israel, the students, under the coordination of the Indonesian Moslem Action Student's Front (KAMMI), began the march at around 9:30 a.m..
Later in the day they moved the rally to the United Nations representative office on Jl. Thamrin and the United States Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, charging the international body and the Americans with inaction.
They also set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags, burned tires in the street and hurled balls of clay at the building.
The protest, which took place before a minimal police cordon, caused traffic jams on the Sudirman main thoroughfare.
KAMMI students in Surabaya also condemned Israel on Friday over what they called the genocide of Palestinians.
The 200 students left for the U.S. Consulate on Jl. Dr. Sutomo, after saying Friday prayers at the Airlangga University Mosque, and protested the U.S.'s impartiality in the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
A student activist, Firman told The Post that the students targeted the U.S. Consulate because they believed the superpower was behind the change in Israel's attitude toward the Palestinians.
"We condemn the slaying of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel," said Firman.
The protesters, mostly female students with head scarves, waved posters denouncing the U.S.'s stance.
A banner read "U.S.-Israel, old friends against Islam", while another read "We urge the UN to be tough with Israel".
It was the second time this year that protesters had 'raided' the consulate.
On Sept. 15 around 50 demonstrators marched to the consulate protesting against what they claimed to be American intervention in Indonesia's internal affairs in connection with the disarmament of militia in West Timor.
The demonstration became rowdy as some of the protesters tore up an American flag. (dja/nur/sur/jun)