JAKARTA, 20 March 2003 — An Islamic youth group threatened yesterday to force US and allied diplomats to leave Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation, amid rising condemnation of the planned war against Iraq. Anshor, the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama, also said it plans a national boycott of US products.
Jakarta police said they had put off-duty officers on call to counter any protests and had strengthened their presence at the embassies of the United States and its allies.
“Anshor will demand the expulsion of US diplomats and government representatives and also those of its allies,” the head of its communications department, Munawar Fuad Noeh, told AFP.
If the diplomats did not leave voluntarily within 48 hours from the start of any attack, “there will be the possibility of a forced expulsion by the people,” an Anshor statement said
Should war break out, the movement will also try to close down all US companies operating in the country, lower US flags in public places and launch a national boycott of American products.“This decision did not come from Anshor itself but following intensive discussions with other youth and religious groups and leaders,” Noeh said. Anshor claims millions of members.
“Washington should realise that these anti-war sentiments are not just small ripples that it can ignore. You go and make war and you will see what you will reap,” said Noeh, terming any attack a “modern form of barbarism.”
Hundreds of students at Palu in Central Sulawesi barricaded a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet on Tuesday and scared away customers.
“This is a US product, it must be boycotted,” read a notice on the front door.
Syafii Ma’arif, head of the second largest Muslim group Muhammadiyah, described President George W. Bush as a “war criminal.”
“Bush needs to see a psychiatrist because his mindset is no longer normal. It is a pity to see a superpower country having a leader like him,” he was quoted as saying by the Detikcom online news service.
Popular Muslim cleric Abdullah Gymnastiar also labeled Bush as a war criminal but urged restraint during protests.
Some 30 members of the Islamic Youth Movement protested in front of the US embassy and burned tyres there.
The government has condemned any military action but promised to protect foreigners and their interests. President Megawati Sukarnoputri has said she did not object to anti-war protests but these should be peaceful.
Megawati wants to safeguard the country’s new-found stability and avoid scaring off badly-needed foreign investors. The United States is Indonesia’s largest export market.
But she could also face a backlash if seen to be cracking down too hard on protesters. Some 90 percent of Indonesia’s 212 million people follow Islam.
