Protests resume against air strikes on Afghanistan
Protests resume against air strikes on Afghanistan
Ainur R. Sophiaan and Kartika Bagus, The Jakarta Post,
Surabaya/Surakarta
SURABAYA: Major protests against the U.S. strikes on
Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 tragedy in New York and
Washington took place again on Friday after several days of
respite.
Around 5,000 Muslims protested in Surabaya and hundreds of
others in Surakarta, Central Java, demanding that the air strikes
against Afghanistan be stopped.
In Surabaya the protesters, mostly members of the Justice
Party (PK), started the rally at Bungkul Park near Al-Falah
Mosque after Friday prayers.
Chanting "Allahu Akbar (God is great)" and carrying anti-U.S.
posters and banners, they later flocked to the province's
gubernatorial office.
"Stop war, save Afghanistan, save (the) Palestine(s)," read
one banner.
M. Rofi' Munawwar, the East Java PK chairman who participated
in the rally, said that the air strikes had killed many innocent
Afghans.
"The attacks show that the U.S. has failed in everything.
There is no other choice except to halt the strikes," he said
sternly.
The protesters dispersed peacefully after two hours of
speeches held during the rally.
In Surakarta, PK supporters demanded that U.S. President
George W. Bush be taken to an international tribunal to be tried
as a war criminal over the attacks.
They also urged Jakarta to cut ties with Washington.
"(President) Megawati (Soekarnoputri) should take a firm
stance against the U.S. by reconsidering diplomatic relations
between the two countries," Seno Margo Utomo, a local PK leader,
told the crowd in a speech.
In Jakarta, Vice President Hamzah Haz again appealed to
Indonesians on Friday to stop street demonstrations against the
conflict in Afghanistan, otherwise it could harm national
interests.
He instead urged Indonesia to help Afghanistan by extending
humanitarian aid to victims of the conflict there. "It is our
obligation to help Afghanistan because it is a Muslim country,"
he was quoted by Antara as saying.
Speaking after performing Friday prayers with hundreds of
Muslims at Jami' Al Makmur Mosque in Tanah Abang, Central
Jakarta, Hamzah said the assistance could include medicine,
clothes, food and blood.
The Indonesian government, he said, had given Rp 1.5 billion
worth of humanitarian aid to the Afghans when Coordinating
Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla recently visited the
border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Hamzah said Jakarta had issued a strong call for an end to the
assault on Afghanistan before the holy fasting month of Ramadhan
started in mid-November.
"The demand of the Muslim people here has been echoed by the
government. Now, we need to look to the future," he said.