AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Friday April 4, 2003
Indonesian VP labels Bush "king of terrorists"
JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz lashed out Friday at the
US-led war against Iraq, calling President George W. Bush the "king of terrorists."
"The US has always boasted about upholding human rights and democracy... yet
without UN approval and with objection by many countries, it invaded Iraq," Haz told
the congregation at a mosque in South Jakarta.
"If Bush is not the king of terrorists, what else can we say about him?" said Haz, who
heads Indonesia's largest Muslim party the United Development Party.
Haz is the only senior Indonesian official to condemn Bush personally although the
government has strongly criticised the war as an act of illegal aggression.
Haz himself came in for criticism last May for meeting Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged
spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group.
Bashir was detained last October and is expected to face trial for attempting to
overthrow the government.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, has seen daily protests since
the attacks began but almost all have been peaceful.
In the city of Solo in Central Java on Friday, about 5,000 people massed outside a
sports stadium to hear speeches condemning Bush and his administration, police
said.
The protesters also torched an effigy of the US president and the US flag.
Copyright © 2002 AFP. All rights reserved.
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