Pro-Israeli elements scorned by Moslems

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)