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.