Mr Popular about to visit Indonesia
US President GW Bush will land in Jakarta today. He will then fly by helicopter, to the mountain town of Bogor, in west Java, for a meeting with Indonesian President SBY.
This is the biggest news event today, in Indonesia. President Bush will get the reception he deserves from locals here, with various groups planning special events around the country.
Here in Bali I have not heard anyone talk about Bush’s visit. On saturday night, I saw a American made profile, of GW Bush, with Indonesian subtitles. It mentioned his ‘folksy’ style being popular with people in rural areas. Indonesia is largely rural, so maybe he’ll be able to score some points.
Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
Police on alert in Bogor, Jakarta for Bush protests
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, Jakarta
Protests against the upcoming visit of U.S. President George W. Bush escalated Saturday with demonstrations in some of the country’s small and far-flung towns.
In towns like Bandar Lampung, Mataram, Bandar Lampung and Kediri, protesters who consisted mostly of members of Muslim-based organizations turned up at noisy demonstrations to denounce the upcoming visit.
In Bandar Lampung, a protest organized by the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) forced a shopping mall to close down all its stores out of fear that the demonstration would be violent.
The protesters, some of them carrying “Bush, Go to Hell” placards also caused a massive traffic jam in downtown Bandar Lampung.
In Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, dozens of students from the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) called on the government to reject the visit of Bush, whom they labeled a “war criminal”.
In Jakarta, hundreds of students from KAMMI also staged a demonstration in front of the State Palace, voicing their opposition to the planned visit.
The demonstrators also demanded that the Bogor city administration allow students to attend classes during Bush’s visit. The local administration has decided to suspend classes to keep students at home during the visit.
A large crowd is expected to turn up for a demonstration today (Sunday), when protests against Bush’s visit are expected to reach a climax.
A number of youth organizations in the capital have vowed to send thousands of their members for a mass rally.
Muhammadiyah youth wing IMM said that it would dispatch at least 2,000 members to the State Palace and the U.S. Embassy.
Hundreds of PKS members are also expected to join the rally.
Police in Purwakarta said that they expected a large number of people to go to Bogor on Monday to join a protest there.
“But we will only monitor their movement, we will not intercept them,” Purwakarta Police chief Sr. Com. Tb. Chanafi was quoted by Antara as saying.
In Bogor, a hilltop town south of Jakarta, where Bush is expected to hold talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, police raided a sedan that had been left unattended for two days in the garage of Hotel Salak, the place where the U.S. president is expected to stay.
A bomb squad was deployed to check the vehicle but no explosives were found.
Meanwhile, Bogor Police said that 9,000 personnel had arrived in the city in several batches to help secure Bush’s visit.
Bogor Police chief Adj. Sr. Com. Sukrawardi Dahlan said that the extra personnel would be deployed to watch over the huge crowd expected to attend a rally to protest against Bush’s visit.
“We have learned that people are getting very emotional about Bush’s visit. The number of demonstrations against Bush are increasing and it has prompted the police to prepare for the unexpected,” he said.