Murder of Sheikh Yassin feared to provoke hard-liners

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Indonesians have expressed solidarity with Palestinians in the wake of Monday's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

The attack against the Palestinian militant group, which has in the past claimed responsibility for several suicide bomb attacks against Israelis, has also deepened resentment against being labeled terrorists in the war on terror.

Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra said the assassination "has prolonged the circle of violence, and will provoke more hard- liner groups".

Azyumardi, who was appointed honorary professor by the University of Melbourne on Tuesday, said the outrage was shared by Western countries that usually sided with Israel. Foreign ministers of the European Union on Monday condemned the "extrajudicial killing".

"The immediate result against Israel is that the world now is against it," the rector of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) said. Indonesia, as the largest Muslim country, should initiate "a global movement" against Israel, he said.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said there should global action against Israel to hold it responsibility for the murder.

"The United Nations should put pressure on Israel and ensure it is held accountable for the assassination," Marty said.

"One country in the Security Council may back Israel, but that doesn't mean we have to let (the incident) go," he said, without naming any country. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also condemned the killing.

Marty added, "We definitely condemn the murder, which violated international laws and does not contribute to peace efforts in the Middle East."

Yassin's death has become campaign fodder here, with Vice President Hamzah Haz, who leads the United Development Party (PPP), calling Israel "a terrorist nation".

At a gathering of Muslim leaders in Probolinggo, East Java, he said Israel should be held accountable for the murder. Attacks against other countries also constitute terrorism, he said.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), a Muslim-based party, began its campaigning on Tuesday with a prayer for the Hamas leader.

The party also placed a quarter page condolences notice in one newspaper. The notice contained the signature of the party's leader, Hidayat Nur Wahid. A group of people also said a pray for the dead outside the United States Embassy.

Indonesia supports the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic relations with Israel.