Protesters 'seal' American fast-food chains

Protesters 'seal' American fast-food chains

The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Hundreds of students from various universities in Yogyakarta
staged two separate rallies on Wednesday to protest the U.S.-led
attack on Afghanistan, burning an effigy of U.S. President George
W. Bush and "sealing" popular American fast-food restaurants.

One group of protesters, claiming to be members of
Muhammadiyah Students Association (IMM) and the Association of
Islamic Students (HMI), burned an effigy of U.S. President George
W. Bush, while rallying at the provincial legislative council.

"Bush kills innocent people," shouted one protester.

The police did not intervene and the demonstration ended
peacefully at 2 p.m.

Another group of students marched from the campus of the
Indonesian Islamic University toward Yogyakarta's business area
through Jl. Sudirman, chanting and shouting "Allah Akbar (God is
Great)."

They carried banners that read, "Bring Bush to the
International Court", "Islam can't tolerate U.S. arrogance",
"Freeze U.S. assets in Indonesia" and "Boycott U.S. products."

Upon reaching Tugu intersection, the students stopped in front
of a Pizza Hut restaurant and held a street theater performance,
depicting hungry Afghans.

"When you eat here, you help finance the assault on
Afghanistan," said one protester. "Let's boycott this capitalist
product from now on."

After holding speeches, the protesters symbolically sealed the
front door of Pizza Hut with dozens of posters.

Some posters read, "This restaurant is sealed", "Eating here
means killing the poor Afghans", "This restaurant will be
liquidated", "Freeze and boycott U.S. investments here."

Dozens of Pizza Hut customers, nevertheless, seemed to be
unperturbed by the demonstration and continued with their meal.

From Pizza Hut, the protesters headed south to Jl. Malioboro.
where McDonalds restaurant is located.

Some 10 protesters "sealed" McDonalds, again by pasting
posters on McDonald's windows. Other protesters shouted," Boycott
American products!"

Again, their actions did not disturb McDonald's customers,
including some veiled schoolgirls who were enjoying their meal.

The protesters then dispersed peacefully at 1 p.m.

In Bandung, West Java, about 300 students staged protests at
the provincial legislative building, burning U.S. flags and
pictures of President Bush.

The police, who outnumbered the protesters, did not take any
action although the government had urged security forces to stop
the burning of flags and other symbols of other nations.
The protest ended peacefully as around 400 policemen stood by.

In Pekanbaru, Riau hundreds of students from Riau University
staged protests at the provincial legislative building and the
governor's office, where the protesters were received by Governor
Saleh Djasit.

The students demanded that the U.S. stop its military
operation in Afghanistan or they would boycott U.S. products.

In Surabaya, East Java, continuing anti-U.S. protests have
prompted 66 out of 166 expatriates working here to leave the
city. Those leaving the city included Americans working at the
U.S. consulate office.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, Americans working in the province
had prepared all necessary documents to leave the province should
the situation worsen.

Palu Immigration Office spokesman Bambang Satrio said his
office had processed all immigration documents for the 52
Americans.

Nevertheless, he said none of the Americans working in the
province had left, noting that no incident against foreigners was
reported.

In Cirebon, West Java, Sultan Maulana Pakuningrat guaranteed
the safety of foreigners in the port town.

"I have coordinated with all related agencies, including
security forces in Cirebon. There will be no actions that could
jeopardize the security of foreigners here," he told The Jakarta
Post.