Interfaith group to meet pope to oppose Iraq war
Interfaith group to meet pope to oppose Iraq war
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An Indonesian delegation of religious leaders left for the
Vatican and Brussels on Tuesday to convey opposition to the U.S.
stance against Iraq.
The interfaith group is due to meet Pope John Paul II and
members of the European Union parliament to strengthen the
international peace movement against Washington's war plans, but
underlined that they were not campaigning against the American
people.
"This is not a campaign against Americans. What we oppose is
the U.S. policy that serves the interests of President George W.
Bush," delegation member Nurcholish Madjid said on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media after meeting Minister of Foreign
Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, the noted Muslim scholar said it was a
shame that the U.S., considered a champion of democracy, planned
a violent, undemocratic act.
"We are not addressing opposition of the American people, but
against the policy of Bush, who for some reason is ready to
sacrifice his own people," Nurcholish said.
The interfaith delegation is led by Cardinal Julius
Darmaatmadja and includes Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi,
Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, Protestant minister Natan
Setiabudi, Hindu leader I Nyoman Suwanda and Buddhist leader
Supeno Alidjurnawan.
"We will meet the pope to convey our opinion that war is
against humanity and could only destroy humankind," the cardinal
said on Tuesday.
Hasyim Muzadi said the interfaith group also conveyed its
peace message to the people of Iraq and urged the country to
disarm.
"Iraq should resume projecting an image of being the center of
knowledge, and not a center of weapons," Hasyim underlined.
Hasyim also revealed the result of a recent trip to Australia
for the same purpose, saying he saw hope that Australia was ready
to change its support of aggression against Iraq.
"I think our meeting with Australian officials was a
constructive meeting as they finally decided to reconsider their
support of the U.S.," Hasyim said.
During the visit, Hasyim was accompanied by Cardinal Julius
Darmaatmadja and Andreas Yewangoe of the Indonesian Communion of
Churches (PGI).
Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim country, was hit by
anti-American protests in 2001 when a U.S.-led coalition attacked
Afghanistan for allegedly harboring Osama bin Laden, the prime
suspect of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The protests prompted the U.S. government to issue travel
warnings against visiting Indonesia and demand extra security for
its interests here.
Similar anti-American sentiment is likely to recur should Bush
go ahead with an attack on Iraq for allegedly developing weapons
of mass destruction.