President urges women to unite against war in Iraq

President urges women to unite against war in Iraq

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri took the occasion of the
International Muslim Women's Union (IMWU) Congress here on Monday
to step up a campaign against the attack on Iraq.

Opening the congress, Megawati called on all women in the
world to unite against the use of force in Iraq that was
destroying the world order.

Referring to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Megawati said the
voices of women were needed to push for an end to the war, for
the sake of humanity.

"We are saddened to watch their show of strength, which is not
only destructive but also retrogressive, and going down the wrong
path," Megawati said, referring to the U.S. and its allies who
attacked Iraq without heeding the objections of the rest of the
world.

"We, the women of the world, should remind the so-called
world's macho (nation), that we do not admire what they are
doing."

The country's first woman President also appealed to all
women's organizations of any race, religion or nationality to
unite in mounting pressure against the violence.

"I urge all women to step up efforts and form alliances to put
an end to the ongoing war, destruction and devastation," Megawati
said.

Indonesia is hosting the third IMWU Grand Congress at the
Jakarta Hilton International, which is scheduled to close on
Friday.

Megawati has strongly deplored the attack on Iraq, calling it
an act of aggression, and has pledged to continue diplomatic
efforts through the auspices of the United Nations (UN) to end
the war.

Antiwar protests have become commonplace in the country, and
were so even before the U.S.-led attack on March 20.

The government has also repeatedly warned that the unilateral
attack by the U.S. and its allies on Iraq had undermined the UN
system and regressed the world to an era of "might is right".

Megawati stressed that the UN had been founded after World War
II, when the international community had vowed to ensure that no
further devastation would befall the world and humanity.

However, she said that the promise had been broken by the
world's only superpower, an act that would revert the world to an
immoral and unethical era.

"We have been asking ourselves why the UN has been undermined
and what should we do to prevent these regressions from
continuing," she said.

Indonesia is among those countries which have demanded the UN
to take concrete actions to stop the war. However, the efforts to
stop the war have failed, due to the differing views of each
country on the Iraq issue.

Megawati had suggested that the UN General Assembly call an
emergency meeting under Resolution 337 on "Uniting for Peace",
but there has been no movement at the UN in this regard, while
the war continues into its third week.

An official with the foreign ministry told The Jakarta Post
recently that such a meeting under the resolution was unlikely to
happen, as there were few countries willing to openly and
completely oppose the war policy of the U.S. and its allies.