Protests, counter protests continue over Hindu slur

Protests, counter protests continue over Hindu slur

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of Hindus in Bali and hundreds of
Moslems in Jakarta staged on Friday separate demonstrations. The
first group blasted State Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M.
Saefuddin for his remark on Hinduism, while the second group was
in his defense.

Antara described how the Gilimanuk ferry port -- the only gate
for land transportation connecting Bali and Java, stopped
operations for three hours because of the demonstration. Clad in
colorful traditional costumes, the Hindu protesters congregated
in Jembrana, West Bali area, some 80 kilometers away from the
capital Denpasar.

Jembrana police chief Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman said no ferry
docked or left the port for Ketapang, in the East Java coastal
town of Banyuwangi, over the course of the demonstration.

"The activities were stopped only out of respect for the
people. The ferries approaching Gilimanuk from Ketapang stopped
and waited until the protest was over," he said.

The protest -- demanding that President B.J. Habibie dismiss
Saefuddin for the remark -- concluded peacefully after some
representatives delivered their petition to Jembrana Regent Ida
Bagus Indugosa.

In Jakarta, hundreds of Moslems demonstrated to counter the
Hindus' demands that Saefuddin be dismissed, according to AFP.

During the protest by some 500 Moslems from different youth
groups at the Al-Azhar Grand Mosque following Friday prayers, the
demonstrators waved banners insisting that Indonesia's president
must be a Moslem.

The banners said, among other things, "Saefuddin, we support
you", and "Megawati (presidential candidate Megawati
Soekarnoputri), what is your religion?"

The Indonesian constitution has no stipulation that the
president must be a Moslem.

The protests in Bali against Saefuddin followed a statement he
made earlier this month in which he implied that a Hindu could
never become a president of Indonesia.

Saefuddin, commenting on his chances of beating popular
politician Megawati in the race for the presidency next year, had
said he was confident of winning because Megawati was a Hindu.

"She (Megawati) is a Hindu. I am a Moslem. Would the
Indonesian people really let their president be a Hindu?"
Saefuddin said. He was commenting on news pictures of Megawati
participating in a Hindu ceremony.

Many of the Hindus are supporters of Megawati, the daughter of
the country's founding president Sukarno, who has Balinese
ancestry on his mother's side.

"Saefuddin's statement was not addressed to insult Hindus in
Bali but specifically aimed at Megawati herself," the protesters,
many of whom had their children with them, said in a statement.

"The assumption that Megawati is a Hindu was based on the fact
that she participated in prayers at Hindu temples," it said,
adding that the matter should end shortly after Saefuddin made
his public apology. (swe)