Thousands stage noisy anti-American protest
Thousands stage noisy anti-American protest
JAKARTA (JP): About 4,000 students and young Moslems staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration outside the American embassy here yesterday, condemning Washington for vetoing a pro- Palestinian draft resolution at the United Nations.
But while the protest proceeded in an orderly manner, over in Yogyakarta a smaller protest on the campus of Gadjah Mada University campus burnt American and Israeli flags.
The demonstration in Jakarta was one of the biggest seen in the Indonesian capital in recent years. The handful of anti-riot police officers stationed outside the embassy were far too outnumbered to disperse the crowd.
Jl. Merdeka Selatan, where the embassy is located, was blocked during the one-hour demonstration. There were no arrests and the protesters dispersed voluntarily after three of their leaders were received by embassy officials to present a statement.
None of the major Moslem organizations usually identified with such protests claimed responsibility.
The students, who came from at least four universities, called themselves the Front Against Zionist Israel. They arrived in two groups. The male students came from the direction of the Gambir railway station while the female students, all wearing Moslem veils, came from the opposite direction.
Chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and singing patriotic songs, they unfurled banners and waved placards condemning the United States and Israel. One banner read "The U.S. is the slave of Zionist Israel" while another said "The U.S. has caused the emergence of all criminal activities in the world".
They also shouted "Khaibar, Khaibar" in reference to an ancient Jewish settlement, Khaibar, which was conquered by the Prophet Muhammad in the Hijra year 7.
"We are also calling on the U.S. to stop serving the Jewish lobby," Teddy Mamesa, one of the protest organizers, said.
"U.S., quit your double standard in dealing with the Islamic world and the developing countries," the students chanted.
They also called for Indonesian solidarity with the Palestinian cause and for the government to use its seat in the Security Council more effectively.
Indonesia was one of the co-sponsors of the UN draft resolution that condemned Israel for expropriating Palestinian land in Jerusalem. Although the resolution had the support of 14 of the council's 15 members, it failed to be passed as the United States used its veto power. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said on Friday that Indonesia was deeply disappointed at the United States' move.
The protest in Yogyakarta yesterday involved more than 200 students, who called themselves the Moslem Movement Against America's Intervention.
Other than the burning of the American and Israeli flags and the angry chants, the protest proceeded without incident.
Their posters were harsher than those in Jakarta, one reading "(President Bill) Clinton, an international crook", another "We support the struggle of Palestinian people", and a third "Jews, go to hell!".
Agus Mas'udi, a student of Gadjah Mada University, said the Clinton administration's decision to exercise its veto right was "childish" with its rationale that "the Jerusalem question has to be handled by Israel and Palestine alone, without external parties' intervention". (swe/yns/02)