Moslem leaders condemn Russian raid on Chechnya
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Moslem leaders strongly condemned Russian military aggression against predominantly-Moslem Chechnya, calling it yet another proof of Russia's hatred of Islam.
"Afghanistan, Bosnia, and now Chechnya ... Russia made all these military moves because it wants to wipe out Moslems everywhere," Ahmad Sumargono of the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI) said here yesterday.
Sumargono, K.H. Abdul Rasyid A. Syafei -- another KISDI leader, and Lukman Harun of the Muhammadiyah organization, warned the Russian embassy here that it may face waves of protests in the near future.
Both organizations have successfully mobilized massive protests for various Moslems' causes, including for aid for Bosnia and for the abolition of the state-sponsored SDSB lottery.
"Russia is turning Chechnya into a second Afghanistan," Sumargono said. "KISDI calls on the Indonesian government to show a stronger stance against Russia."
"(Russian President Boris) Yeltsin is driven by his hatred, and by the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev three years ago," Lukman said.
Rasyid told The Jakarta Post that he and his congregation have already held prayer services for the safety of Chechen's Moslems and will ask even more people to hold similar prayer meetings in Jakarta.
Sumargono said that KISDI leaders will consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Indonesia's stance before organizing any protests.
"We want to air our concern for our Moslem brothers in Chechnya, but we don't want to go against the government's stance," he said. "The Chechnya case is not exactly like Bosnia, which was already an independent state in the first place."
Rasyid said he believed that other Moslem organizations would soon mobilize and show various forms of support for the Chechen Moslems.
President Yeltsin ordered his forces to strike secessionist Chechnya on Sunday, ignoring warnings from friends and foes that he risked plunging Russia into a bloody Caucasus adventure.
Hopes
The raid effectively dimmed international hopes of averting a major conflict between Russian troops sent to force Chechnya back into the Russian Federation and rebel fighters defending the mainly Moslem region's independence declaration of 1991.
Lukman said Yeltsin's move will drag Russia into prolonged conflicts similar to the one it had with Afghanistan. Up to 13,000 Russian troops died during the 10-year war.
Historically, Chechnya had been an independent state with a Moslem majority forced to join Russia under the Tsar in 19th century, Lukman said.
"Russia, which has just been freed from the grip of communism, is repeating its violent history by attacking Chechnya using communist cruelty," Lukman said.
All the Moslem leaders called on the United Nations, member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and other "civilized" countries to help prevent further violence and aggression in Chechnya.
"Let's stop Yeltsin's blood-thirsty campaign," Lukman, a member of the New York-based World Conference on Religion and Peace, said. "No one will get hurt more than innocent people. Russia must be stopped." (swe)