Hamzah labels Bush 'king of terrorists'

Hamzah labels Bush 'king of terrorists'

Agencies, Jakarta

Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz lashed out Friday at the
U.S.-led war against Iraq, calling President George W. Bush the
"king of terrorists."

"The U.S. has always boasted about upholding human rights and
democracy... yet without UN approval and with objection by many
countries, it invaded Iraq," Hamzah told the congregation at a
mosque in South Jakarta.

"If Bush is not the king of terrorists, what else can we say
about him?" said Hamzah, who heads Indonesia's largest Muslim
party the United Development Party.

Hamzah is the second state official to condemn Bush personally
although the government has strongly criticized the war as an act
of illegal aggression.

Earlier this week, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker
Amien Rais, who is also the chairman of the National Mandate
Party, referred Bush as a war criminal.

"We support the Indonesian government and ask it to appeal to
the United Nations to try all war criminals in the International
Court for their unjustified use of force against the people of
Iraq after the war is over," Amien said, referring to Bush,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister
John Howard.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, has
seen daily protests since the attacks on Iraq began but almost
all have been peaceful.

The largest rally occurred in Jakarta last Sunday when about
300,000 people rallied in front of the U.S. embassy.

In the city of Solo in Central Java on Friday, about 5,000
people massed outside a sports stadium to hear speeches
condemning Bush and his administration, police said.

The protesters also torched an effigy of the U.S. president
and the U.S. flag.