Police stop protest outside U.S. embassy

Police stop protest outside U.S. embassy

JAKARTA (JP): Police yesterday foiled an attempt by students to stage a demonstration outside the American Embassy here, dispersing the group before they had a chance to make their statement.

About 40 students from the Islamic University of Bandung, West Java, marched to the embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan carrying banners condemning Washington for its decision to impose a comprehensive economic embargo on Iran.

But police officers moved in and confiscated the banners and posters before the protesters had time to unfurl them.

"We don't care about your political statement. You are disturbing the traffic, so move on," a police officer told the students as he gave them the march order.

The students however managed to slip a prepared statement to an embassy security officer.

The statement, which was made available to the press, demanded that Washington lift its economic embargo against Iran. It also demanded that a United Nations economic embargo against Iraq and Libya be removed.

It also called for the lifting of an arms embargo against the predominantly Moslem Bosnia-Herzegovina to allow the people there to defend themselves in their civil war with the Serbs and Croats.

The students, who said they were affiliated with the Association of Moslem University Students, accused Washington of abusing its political clout through its foreign policies, which, they said, inflict suffering on people in developing countries.

They accused the United States of being an arrogant super power that is using the United Nations to serve its interests, especially in the Middle East.

They also demanded that the U.S. government be more fair in viewing the Third World and to stop discrediting the Moslem world. (yns)