Govt urged to help terror suspect

JAKARTA: Hundreds of students and Muslim youths staged a demonstration in front of the South Sulawesi provincial legislature building, demanding the government to take concrete action to help release Agus Dwikarna who has been arrested in the Philippines for what they claimed were groundless charges.

The demonstrators said they were disappointed with President Megawati Soekarnoputri for taking no action to free Agus who they said had no faults but was arrested by Philippine authorities.

They demanded that the government freeze Indonesian ties with the Philippines if Agus was punished by the Philippine court on July 12, 2002.

The also called on South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna and the provincial legislature leadership to leave for Manila to lobby the Philippine government to show that they were committed to providing protection for the Indonesian citizen.

Agus along with other two Indonesians were arrested in the Philippines in March for the illegal possession of explosive materials as they were boarding a flight and for not having proper immigration documents. Agus' two colleagues have already been released while Agus is also facing charges of alleged involvement in the bombing of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta last year. --JP