Anti-U.S. Protests Flare Again
By I MADE SENTANA and JAMES HOOKWAY
Indonesian police fired water cannon to disperse a crowd of more than 500 protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Peter Saidel discusses on The News Hub. Photo: Reuters.
JAKARTA—Demonstrations related to an anti-Islam video showed no signs of ebbing Monday with protesters doing battle with police in Indonesia and Afghanistan nearly a week after angry crowds swarmed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
Indonesian police fired water cannon to disperse a crowd of more than 500 protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, in the most violent protests to hit Indonesia since the emergence of the video, made in the U.S., which mocks the Prophet Muhammad.
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Associated Press Indonesians hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta on Monday, the first violence there over a recent anti-Muslim video.
The video sparked violent demonstrations that targeted the U.S. and its allies across the Islamic world from the Middle East to Africa and Asia, prompting the U.S. to step up security at its embassies around the world.
U.S. Embassy officials in Jakarta issued an emergency warning to U.S. citizens when word of the planned demonstration broke early in the day. The protesters in Jakarta, led by members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front, gathered Monday outside the U.S. mission, where they burned tires and threw rocks and Molotov cocktails. Demonstrators tried to commandeer a fire truck before breaking off their protests for prayers in the street.
In Kabul, a crowd blocked traffic, burned tires and pelted police with stones on a highway that links the city to eastern Afghanistan. The demonstration took place in the vicinity of Camp Phoenix, a major North Atlantic Treaty Organization military base, raising fears that protesters might march on U.S. diplomatic facilities in the center of town. The demonstration ended without escalating into serious violence. The response of the Afghan police drew praise from Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force.
The demonstrations came amid heightened tensions in Afghanistan, following a well-orchestrated Taliban raid on a major base in southern Helmand province this weekend and a coalition airstrike Sunday that claimed the lives of several civilians in eastern Laghman Province. Fearful of widespread violence, U.S. and Afghan officials have urged restraint over the video. "This video goes against values of tolerance and mutual respect, which are the foundation of our alliance and our societies," said Brig. Gen. Günter Katz, spokesman for the ISAF. "NATO has been very clear that there can be no justification for violence."
Dr. Shibley Telhami, an expert in public opinion among Arab groups, discusses on The News Hub the pent up anger against the U.S. in the Middle East and, going forward, how similar violent reactions can be avoided. Photo: AP.
The coalition on Monday also disclosed another so-called insider attack, in which an Afghan soldier opened fire on a vehicle he believed to be driven by coalition troops. Gen. Katz said the soldier was detained by Afghan forces.
New details emerged Monday about this weekend's Taliban assault on Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan. The Defense Department identified one of the two Marines killed in the attack as Lt. Col. Chris Raible, the commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 211.
A military news release in July said Lt. Col. Raible, a Pennsylvania native and graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, had led the fighter squadron as it relocated from a previous base at Kandahar Airfield to Camp Bastion.
Also killed in the attack was Sgt. Bradley Atwell of Kokomo, Ind
The Harrier jet unit lost around half of its aircraft in the assault after insurgents disguised in U.S. Army uniforms managed to breach the perimeter of the heavily fortified base. Six of the jump-jets were destroyed, and two were seriously damaged.
Demonstrators in Pakistan also rallied, with teachers joining students in the streets of Baluchistan province. The day before, protesters broke through a barrier near the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, At least one protester died, the Associated Press reported.
Photos: Violent Protests in Kabul, Jakarta
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Reuters Protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.
Map: Middle East Unrest
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Timeline: Past Attacks Past attacks on U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.
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In Lebanon, thousands of protesters massed in Hezbollah strongholds south of Beirut. The leader of the militant group, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shiite political party and militant group Hezbollah, made a rare public appearance before tens of thousands of protesters in Beirut's southern suburbs.
It was Mr. Nasrallah's first public appearance since December 2011. He called on the U.S. to close down any websites that continue broadcasting the video, and called on international organizations to make denigration of monotheistic religions a violation of international law.
"This is the start of a serious movement that must continue all over the Muslim world in defense of the prophet of God," Mr. Nasrallah said.
Google Inc.'s GOOG +0.04%YouTube has suspended access to the film in Libya and Egypt and restricted access in India and Indonesia, where local governments have declared its content illegal. The telecommunication regulator in the United Arab Emirates said it has blocked access to the video and urged users to report any existing links to the country's Internet providers, the AP said. It was still possible to view the video by clicking recently posted links found within the site. Afghanistan attempted to block local Internet users' access to YouTube.
Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims, around 210 million, most of whom practice a moderate form of the faith, but there is a vocal community of hard-liners.
Outside Jakarta, local media reported dozens of protesters throwing eggs and trampling on American flags at the U.S. Consulate in Medan earlier in the day. Protests over the weekend led several branches of Yum! Brands Inc's KFC restaurant chain to close.
The Jakarta demonstration was the first to turn violent, however. Among other things, demonstrators burned a picture of U.S. President Barack Obama, a popular figure in Indonesia, where he spent some of his childhood.
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Untung Rajab said several police officers were taken to the hospital after being hit with rocks and rattan sticks. Four demonstrators were arrested, and at least one taken to hospital for treatment.
"Today's demonstration was anarchy, resulting in 11 policemen who needed to be hospitalized," Maj. Gen. Rajab said. "Demonstrations are allowed, but as long as they're not anarchic."
—Nathan Hodge in Kabul and Charles Levinson in Beirut contributed to this article. |
