RI antiwar protests getting rowdier

RI antiwar protests getting rowdier

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Tertiani ZB Simanjutak, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

The wave of antiwar rallies continued on Sunday with thousands of
protesters taking to the streets across the country to express
their opposition to the ongoing U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

In Jakarta, close to 2,000 protesters took turns staging
peaceful rallies in front of the tightly-guarded United States
Embassy on Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

The U.S. is leading coalition forces invading Iraq, ostensibly
to get rid of the country's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

The first protest started at around 10 a.m. and involved some
200 students belonging to various organizations. Carrying posters
that among other things read: "Bush is a war criminal", "Stop the
invasion", and "No more war", the students demanded an immediate
halt to the one-sided attack on Iraq.

"We urge the international tribunal to bring Bush, Blair, and
Howard to court as terrorists and war criminals," said one of the
protesters from a makeshift stage set up on a pick-up truck,
while failing to specify what exact international tribunal he had
in mind.

The protester was referring to U.S. President George W. Bush,
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Australian Prime Minister
Howard. The three countries make up the main military forces
participating in the invasion, which has drawn worldwide
condemnation.

During the protest, some protesters burned U.S. flags and
threw eggs at the embassy, which was guarded by some 400
policemen. The protesters dispersed peacefully.

Later in the day, some 1,000 protesters, organized by a
coalition of some 40 organizations, including Christian and
Buddhist groups, also rallied in front of the mission.

The protest ended after about three hours with the burning of
an effigy of Bush and the reading of a joint statement demanding
an immediate end to the invasion of Iraq.

"We call for the war to be immediately halted," a protester
read out from a prepared statement.

The protesters also urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri to
cut diplomatic ties with Washington.

On Sunday afternoon, some 200 members of the Islam Defenders
Front (FPI), a small hard-line group, staged a protest against
the war outside the embassy.

The FPI, which has resumed its operations after having claimed
to have suspended them several months ago, said they would send
volunteers to help Iraq during the war.

"It is better to send any other Imam Samudras that there might
be to Iraq for a jihad than threaten our internal security," said
FPI chairman Habib Rizieq, referring to the alleged mastermind of
last year's Bali terrorist attacks that killed at least 202
people and injured over 350 others, mostly foreigners.

The FPI claims it has started recruiting volunteers to wage a
jihad, or holy war, against the U.S. and its allies in Iraq.
Around 200 FPI supporters signed up on Sunday, the first day of a
one-week recruitment drive.

FPI secretary-general Ahmad Shabri Lubis claimed that
thousands of supporters across the country had signed up on
Sunday. The FPI hoped to send them in three weeks' time.

"There will be some physical and psychological training, but
if necessary those who already have passports can leave
immediately," he told reporters.

"Apprehending foreigners and U.S. citizens is no longer on our
agenda. But jihad is. We are confronting an unjust war, not the
people, because we don't want to end up in the hands of the
police force," he added.

In the Central Java town of Pekalongan, more than 2,000 school
students held a rally in the town's main square to pray for the
people of Iraq, and for peace, Agence France Presse reported.

"They burned flags, American and British, I think, but there
were no incidents," said a policeman.

An antiwar protest was also staged by about 150 people from
the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) in front of the U.S.
consulate general in Denpasar, Bali.

In Surabaya, East Java, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's
largest Muslim organization, set up a post to collect
humanitarian aid for Iraqi refugees.

NU East Java deputy secretary Romadlon Sukardi said on Sunday
that his group would coordinate with the Indonesian Red Cross to
transport the humanitarian aid to Iraq.

The Muslim group also urged the U.S. to stop the military
attack on Iraq and bring the case to the United Nations.

There were no reports of the terrorist attacks that were
predicted by Australia over the weekend. Malls and shopping
centers opened as usual on Sunday.