PGI asks U.S. to stop attacks

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) urged the U.S on Friday to stop its air strikes in Afghanistan and resolve the conflict through the United Nations.

PGI chairman Natan Setiabudi said that the U.S.-Afghan conflict had brought about worrying ramifications for inter- religious relations in Indonesia as well as elsewhere.

Natan said PGI was deeply concerned over the widespread misperception that the Afghan-U.S. war was an attack on Islam by the Christian West.

"We appeal to the public to see this issue wisely and in a clear perspective. It is clearly not a religious war. It's about Americans attacking people they perceive as terrorists and the forces that provide them protection," Natan said in a news briefing.

PGI called on the Indonesian government and volunteers to focus on humanitarian aid for the innocent Afghans who are suffering the most from the military action.

"Indonesia is struggling hard to free itself from the severe crisis and this needs solid cooperation among all components of society," he said.

PGI called on the public not to exploit the different stands that the government and certain groups in the society had taken.

"We are worried that the Afghan-American conflict will be exploited to make it look like it were a Christian-Muslim war," he said.

On the government's stand, which stopped short of condemning the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan, Natan said that the PGI could understand the government's difficult position in the issue.

"This is a delicate issue and everyone should see this realistically," he said.