ABC AUSTRALIA, Sunday, November 28, 2004. 6:10pm (AEDT)
Indonesians rally against Fallujah assault
About 8,000 Indonesian Muslims have staged a peaceful rally against a major US-led
assault on Iraq's rebel city of Fallujah, which has claimed 2,000 lives.
Protesters have marched along Jakarta's main thoroughfares to the United States
embassy, chanting anti-American slogans and displaying posters critical of US
President George W Bush.
"How many more people must die because of Bush's lies," read leaflets handed out
by the protesters, many of whom are women wearing headscarves and carrying
babies.
"The US onslaught against Fallujah is an attack against Muslims because they
destroyed mosques and killed innocent civilians," a protester, who gave his name as
Abu Ammar, said.
Protesters also distributed leaflets carrying a picture of Mr Bush alongside that of a
monkey with a similar facial expression and a caption reading: "What's the
difference?"
The rally has been organised by the Muslim group, Prosperous Justice Party, an
increasingly popular organisation.
The group won 7.34 per cent of votes in this year's legislative elections.
The atmosphere at the rally is more like a picnic than a street protest, with parents
carrying babies and little children taking pictures at Jakarta's landmark welcome
statue before marching on to the US embassy.
US and Iraqi forces engaged in the largest post-war military operation in Iraq when
they thrust into the rebel stronghold of Fallujah to root out insurgents on November 8.
Iraq's National Security Adviser Qassem Daoud says that more than 2,000 people
have been killed in the assault and more than 1,600 captured.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has been a vocal opponent of the
US-led invasion of Iraq.
- AFP
©2004 ABC
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