The Sydney Morning Herald, December 14, 2004 - 9:08AM
Indonesian extremists 'will be under control'
Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid today said the extremist Muslim
elements in his country would soon be reined in.
They would soon realise there was no foundation for holding antipathy towards
western interests, the senior cleric said.
Mr Wahid, who is currently on a lecture tour of Australia, said Indonesians were not
opposed to the United States or Australia but were against certain policies of those
countries.
"You know Indonesians, they are a moderate people, so we don't like that kind of
thing (terrorism)," he told ABC Radio.
"(The extremists) are better organised. They are given assistance from the Middle
East, from other sources.
"But, I think soon we will be able to take those things into our hands. "They soon will
realise that it's not a good thing to do." Mr Wahid said relations between Australia and
Indonesia were currently good.
"Indonesians don't know about Pauline Hanson or for that matter about those things,"
he said
Copyright © 2004. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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