Moslem leaders demand UN sanction against Serbs

Moslem leaders demand UN sanction against Serbs

JAKARTA (JP): A group of influential Moslem leaders visited
the United Nations (UN) office here yesterday, demanding that it
take immediate action to halt Bosnian Serbs' onslaught on eastern
Bosnian town of Gorazde.

"We demand that the UN punish the Serb aggressors who have
blatantly violated the truce they had previously agreed to, and
who continue slaughtering innocent people in Gorazde," leaders of
the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI) said
in a statement.

Led by Ahmad Sumargono and Hussein Umar, the delegates also
demanded that UN Security Council lift the arms-embargo imposed
on Bosnia Herzegovina in order to give its Moslem population a
fair chance to defend itself.

The group demanded that the UN provide opportunities for
countries who are sympathetic to the Bosnian Moslems' plight to
send their troops to join the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in
the troubled former Yugoslavia.

However, Bosnian officials politely declined the services of
the Indonesian volunteers during a recent visit to Indonesia,
stressing that parties concerned about their cause should
concentrate on helping to raise support and lifting the UN arms
embargo.

In the past, the group had frequently organized massive Moslem
rallies on Bosnian cause in Jakarta and several other major
cities. In February alone it organized several rallies, one of
which was joined by some 5,000 people, calling for Indonesian
Moslems to register as volunteers to be sent to Bosnia.

Yesterday's protest was the first the group launched since
NATO's promised to take strong action against the Serbs' forces
last month.

KISDI leaders yesterday also called for members of the Non-
Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC) to support a U.S. quest to widen a threat of NATO air
strikes to protect Gorazde and five other UN-designated "safe
areas".

"If NATO fails to carry out its threat then it's has earned
the name that has come to be associated with the group, No Action
Talk Only," Hussein said.

The Moslem leaders, who have the ears of thousands of
congregants, yesterday requested a meeting with UN Representative
Jan Kamp who declined to meet with them. Instead, they were met
at the door by two local officers who refused to say where Kamp
was. They also would not grant the delegates' request to sit down
and hold a dialog.

Despite the leaders' protest of the "rude treatment", the
officers only said that "there is no room to receive you here".

After several minutes of arguments, KISDI leaders left the
office angrily to hang banners and placards outside the building.

The placards read, among other things: "UN, Prove Your Salt in
Bosnia" and "Stop Hypocrisy and Solve Problems In Bosnia".

The two officers also refused to reveal their names to the
delegates or reporters, but security guards said they were Rahmat
and Mrs. Salimin from the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) representative.

Later on in the day, Hussein told The Jakarta Post that his
group plans to make similar visits to the embassies of Islamic
countries here and urge them to ally themselves in solving the
Bosnian problem.

As has been done many times in the past, KISDI leaders also
urged the NAM and OIC to push for the revamping of UN Security
Council which they claimed was dominated by Western nations. NAM
is currently under the chairmanship of Indonesia's President
Soeharto.

Hussein said that as the fourth most populous country in the
world, Indonesia should be included in the Security Council along
with the other under-represented Islamic countries. This, he
said, would ensure fairer treatment of Moslem communities in
various parts of the globe. (swe)