Saturday, July 31, 2010 Previous editions
Thousands of followers of a conservative Islamic group held peaceful demonstrations in several Indonesian cities against the planned visit of President Barack Obama.
Witnesses and police said more than 4,000 members of the Islamic group Hizb-ut Tahrir held protests today in East Java’s provincial capital Surabaya, South Sulawesi’s capital of Makassar, and three other cities.
The group, which seeks the establishment of a pan- Islamic nation, called on the Indonesian government to reject Mr Obama’s trip, scheduled for late March.
Hundreds of police were on hand during the protests that drew around 2,000 people outside the US consulate in Surabaya and another 2,000 in the streets of Makassar.
No altercations were reported.
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