Washingtonpost.com, Saturday, November 4, 2006; 4:13 AM
Hardline Muslims Protest Bush Visit
The Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Hundreds of Islamic hard-liners rallied in front of the American
Embassy in Jakarta on Saturday, denouncing President Bush's planned trip to the
world's most populous Muslim nation.
[PHOTO: Muslim women hold posters during a demonstration against the scheduled
visit of U.S. President George W. Bush outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta,
Indonesia, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2006. Bush is expected to hold talks with Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Nov. 20 in Bogor, West Java province, after
attending an Asia-Pacific Economic meeting in Vietnam, where he will meet
Southeast Asian leaders. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) (Dita Alangkara - AP)]
"Bush should not come to Indonesia," shouted Muhammad Ismail Yusanto, saying
Bush was responsible for the violence in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Bush is scheduled to visit Indonesia, a close ally in the war on terror, on Nov. 20, after
he attends an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam.
Thousands of troops are being deployed to secure the city of Bogor, where Bush is to
hold talks with his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"Bush is the world's No. 1 terrorist," chanted about 600 protesters outside the
embassy, which was ringed by police.
"He has ordered U.S. troops to colonize Iraq and Afghanistan," they chanted.
Most of Indonesia's 190 million Muslims practice a moderate form of the faith, but
hard-liners have made inroads in recent years.
Al-Qaida-linked militants have carried out a series of suicide bombings targeting
Western interests in Indonesia since 2002. The government has arrested and put on
trial hundreds of suspected terrorists.
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