Hundreds of hardline Muslims rally against Bush’s planned visit to Indonesia By Associated Press Saturday, November 4, 2006 - Updated: 08:53 AM EST 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.
“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.
