Indonesian VP labels Bush king of terrorists

AFP, 4 April 2003

JAKARTA, April 4 (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.