Indonesia + Australia: 1000s protest against Bush

Protests in Indonesia and Australia

Update: Bush heckled by 2 Australian Senators
Protesters outside: "Bush Go Home'' and ``Osama bin Bush"

MenaFN/UPI -Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Photos: Protest in Jakarta, 2 protest pics from Melbourne, Australia

BBC -Wednesday, 22 October, 2003

Thousands of people protested at the central town hall in Sydney ahead of his arrival, calling for Australian soldiers to be withdrawn from Iraq. More demonstrations are also planned in Canberra.

... A giant skeleton shrouded in black towers over demonstrators assembled at Sydney's Town Hall before protestors marched through city streets October 22, 2003. Anti-U.S. protesters took to the streets of Australia's main cities on Wednesday in carnival-like demonstrations ahead of a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to thank the country for its help in the war on terror.

Guardian: Two senators who staunchly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq heckled President Bush as he spoke to parliament on Thursday

Photos: Protest in Jakarta and Australia

Anti-U.S. demonstrations took place at several big cities across the country, including in the Central Java city of Solo, home of the convicted Islamic militant cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir. About 5,000 protesters burned the American flag Monday.

In Jakarta, more than 300 Muslim students from the Indonesian Muslim Students Association, known by its initials KAMI, demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy, waving anti-Bush posters and banners.

The protesters labeled Bush the world's "No. 1 terrorist," and torched his pictures and U.S. flags, eyewitnesses said.

"Wanted -- George Bush," said one of the banners. "No dialogue with a liar," said another. A third read, "No compromise with the killer."

ABC -Oct. 22 In Jakarta, Muslim intellectuals and politicians joined 500 people in a peaceful protest over Bush's visit. There were also small protests in the cities of Bandung and Makassar.

On Bali itself, police were taking no chances with security.

Roads near the airport and the Patra Bali hotel where Bush was holding meetings were closed, snarling traffic. The airport was shut for the duration of his visit, forcing the rescheduling of 45 flights to Bali.

Two Anti-War Senators Protest Bush Speech

Guardian -Thursday October 23, 2003

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Two senators who staunchly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq heckled President Bush as he spoke to parliament on Thursday, but the president shrugged it off, saying ``I love free speech.''

Both lawmakers, maverick Sen. Bob Brown and Sen. Kerry Nettle, were ordered out of the chamber, but refused to leave.

Brown was the first to interrupt Bush, as the president was saying that people should be happy that Saddam Hussein's regime had been toppled in Iraq. When a parliamentary official motioned for Brown to leave, he shook his head and stood his ground.

Later, when Bush paid tribute to Australia for promoting peace in Southeast Asia, Brown shouted: ``But we are not a sheriff.''

It was a reference to Bush's recent comment that Australia was a U.S. sheriff in the region. The comment apparently was intended to portray Australia as being on equal footing with the United States. Instead, it reinforced sentiment among some Asian nations that Canberra was an agent for the Bush administration.

When, Nettle shouted protests about the war in Iraq, Bush smiled and said: ``I love free speech.''

As Bush arrived at the parliament, his entourage was greeted by several thousand noisy demonstrators, who were banging drums and carrying signs that said: ``Bush Go Home,'' ``Go back to Texas'' and ``Osama bin Bush'' Police held back the surging protesters, who were kept about 100 yards away from where Bush entered the building.

Dissenters bring Bush face to face with a dose of free speech

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printed from Indonesia + Australia: 1000s protest against Bush on 2004-06-16 15:38:50