Pro-Israeli elements scorned by Moslems
JAKARTA (JP): Scholar Amien Rais and the Indonesian Committee for World Moslems Solidarity (KISDI) deplored yesterday certain Indonesians who had voiced support for Israel in the Middle East crisis, and urged them to be aware of their blunder.
Amien said in a mass gathering here that some people and analysts had come to believe that former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres and his Labor Party endorsed the Palestinian cause more than the Likud which is led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
"In my opinion, the two parties are merely two faces of the same coin. The only difference is that one is more subtle in implementing their policy while the other is more aggressive," said Amien, who is the chairman of the 28-million strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization.
The gathering, which was held at the Al Azhar Grand Mosque in South Jakarta, was sponsored by KISDI and attended by about 2,000 people.
In its written statement, read by chairman Ahmad Sumargono, KISDI also criticized public figures who had shown sympathy with the Israeli policy.
Neither Amien Rais nor KISDI mentioned any names but recently Abdurrahman Wahid, the chairman of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, accepted Peres' request to join his institute, which he claimed fought for peace in the Middle East.
According to KISDI "those Indonesians should know that Israelis are cold-blooded terrorists and there is no way they will let the Palestinians regain their homeland and freedom, because it's their basic policy".
"And it is impossible to use sense with them. We appreciate the Indonesian stance on the Palestinian struggle and urge the government, the World Islamic Organization and ASEAN to boycott Israel in every international forum," it said.
KISDI announced yesterday that it would establish an anti- Zionist task force to block any Zionist influences in Indonesia.
Amien further related the history of Zionist imperialism in Palestine and said that to his knowledge, there were no Israeli documents which said they would give freedom or land to Palestine.
"Each day, Israeli soldiers impose systematical terrorism on Palestinians. They have also repeatedly stalled their promise to withdraw their troops from Hebron."
The latest refusal came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said he would not stop the construction of a new Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.
Ambassadors
Present at the gathering were Palestine Ambassador to Indonesia Ribhi Awad and Sudanese Ambassador Salih Abdu Mas Hamoun.
The speeches and statements were repeatedly greeted by Moslem youths shouting Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great) in an apparent show of sympathy for Palestinians.
Ambassador Awad, in his speech, thanked the Indonesian government for its consistent stance toward the Palestinian cause.
He also shouted "Hidup (long live) Pak (Father) Harto, Pak Arafat and ABRI (Indonesian Armed Forces)".
A banner of the organizing committee read: Stop the activities of any Moslem traitors who wear the mask of human rights and democracy.
Another banner asked the Indonesian government to close any possibility of diplomatic relations with Israel. (12)