Hundreds of thousands call for end of war

Hundreds of thousands call for end of war

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta's main thoroughfares turned into seas of humanity as
hundreds of thousands of people from various religions and ethnic
groups took to the streets in the country's largest ever rally to
protest the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Supporters of Muslim-based parties and organizations, Catholic
priests and nuns, students, noted intellectuals and labor union
activists were among those who marched from the Hotel Indonesia
traffic circle to the U.S. Embassy on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.
The march, which took place under a sweltering sun, caused a
massive traffic jam that lasted for hours.

Marchers carried banners condemning the U.S and its allies,
who went for war without the consent of the United Nations. Other
banners criticized the world body for failing to prevent the war
and urged the world community to stop the aggression. Amid
hundreds of banners written in Arabic, one group of protesters
displayed a banner quoting antiwar remarks from Pope John Paul
II.

Calling the U.S.-led war an attack on humanity, some
demonstrators demanded an international human rights tribunal for
the leaders of the countries involved in the attack.

To mark the start of the protest, hundreds of doves were
released into the sky to symbolize peace and church bells were
rung.

This may have been the first time members of the National
Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS),
Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization,
the Muslim Propagation Council and the Indonesian Ulemas Council
joined hands with members of other religions for a common cause.

The Indonesian government has strongly deplored the attack on
Iraq and has attempted prod the UN to take action to stop the
aggression.

Police put the number of protesters at 250,000, while
organizers claimed over one million people took part in the
rally.

Nearly 1,500 police officers were deployed to maintain order
during the protest, with a special focus on guarding the U.S.
Embassy. No violence was reported during the protest, which ended
at noon.

Among the demonstrators were People's Consultative Assembly
Speaker and PAN chairman Amien Rais, noted Muslim scholar
Nurcholish Madjid, the former chairman of the Indonesian
Committee for World Muslim Solidarity, Achmad Soemargono, and PKS
chairman Hidayat Nurwahid, who was also the rally coordinator.

"All of the people of Indonesia, without exception, want Bush
to withdraw his forces from Iraq," Amien shouted to the crowd as
they passed in front of the UN building on Jl. Thamrin.

Nurcholish said "world peace is in danger and being destroyed
by a man called Bush". Nurcholish was referring to U.S. President
George W. Bush.

Nurcholish was among the Indonesian interfaith leaders who met
with the European Parliament in Brussels and the Pope in the
Vatican prior to the war to convey the country's antiwar message.

Protesters again called for a nationwide boycott of U.S.
products and a shift to European goods. The government, scholars
and religious leaders have warned that a boycott of U.S. products
would only hurt Indonesia.

In Surabaya, hundreds of civilian guards from the country's
largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), held a mass
prayer in front of the U.S. Consulate General on Jl. Dr. Soetomo
to protest the war. The protesters also questioned the relevance
of the UN given its reluctance to take action against the U.S.
and its allies.

During the rally, an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush
was burned.

On the resort island of Bali, Hindus sent a message of peace,
calling for a cease-fire for the Hindu Day of Silence on
Wednesday. The holiday marks the Hindu New Year.

"The Hindu Day of Silence is sacred and can provide the
momentum to bring peace back to the world," Agus Indra Udayana,
chairman of the youth organization Aashram Gandhi Puri, told
Antara on Sunday.

During the Day of Silence, Hindus avoid all activities and
light to signify the effort to purify themselves.

Indonesia has seen a wave of antiwar protests since the U.S.
and its allies attacked Iraq on March 20. One exception, however,
is the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, which has remained
rally-free.

Muhammad Lationo, secretary-general of the largest Muslim
organization in east Indonesia, Alkhairaat, said this did not
mean that the people of Palu supported the war in Iraq.

"Instead of staging a rally it would be more effective for
Muslims here to say a prayer to God or to provide humanitarian
aid for the Iraqi people," he said as quoted by Antara.