Students stage protest at Russian embassy
Students stage protest at Russian embassy
JAKARTA (JP): Around 80 Moslem students staged a noisy protest
outside the Russian embassy yesterday, condemning Moscow's policy
in Bosnia-Herzegovina and its military actions in Chechnya.
Some two dozen members of the Indonesian Solidarity Committee
of Youth and Students for Bosnia and Chechnya displayed posters
calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya and
lashing out at Moscow's pro-Serb policy in Bosnia.
"Long Live Chechnya. Long Live Bosnia. Long Live Human
Rights!" the students shouted, as they unfurled banners and
chanted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest).
They were later joined by some 40 members of the Student
Committee on Human Rights from the University of Indonesia (UI).
The students wore yellow jackets and carried anti-Russian
posters, some even written in Russian by UI students of Russian
literature.
"First Bosnia. Now Chechnya. What's next for Russia?" one of
the posters read. Other posters read "Yeltsin: Violator of human
rights" and "Find a peaceful solution to Chechnya".
Six representatives from the two organizations were received
in separate groups by embassy representatives, Boris Budanov and
Vladimir Pronim, who promised to forward their statements to
Moscow.
Dozens of policemen sympathetically guarded the students from
spilling onto the busy Jl. Thamrin thoroughfare, repeatedly
reminding the students about the traffic.
The solidarity committee, gathering students from several
universities here and in nearby Bogor, urged Moscow "to stop the
mass killing and uncivilized actions" in Bosnia.
"We condemn the Russian government's intervention in Chechnya
and urge the Russian army to withdraw from Chechnya," they said
in a statement.
The UI students, in a petition handed over to the embassy,
condemned the Russian invasion of Chechnya and demanded the
withdrawal of Moscow's troops.
"Russia should leave the UN Security Council because of its
inability to maintain and safeguard world peace, including in its
own area," the statement said.
Finally, the UI students said they rejected statements made by
a Russian government official who likened Moscow's actions in
Chechnya with the integration of East Timor to Indonesia in 1976.
"Chechnya is not East Timor!" a poster read. "Serbs and
Russia: Twin brothers!", another read.
Both groups called on the Indonesian government, as current
chairman of the 111-countries Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as well
as a member of the 51-strong Organization of Islamic Conference
(OIC), to take a stronger stance on the issue.
They also called on Indonesia and other Moslem countries to
recognize Chechnya and help the region achieve full sovereignty.
Indonesia is the world's largest Moslem-populated country with
close to 90 percent of its 194 million people as adherents of
Islam.
Some of the students were organized by an organization of
ulemas, the Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI), which
in the past has mobilized thousands of students for various
Moslem causes. (swe)