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| International |
| Indonesian bully boys looking for foreigners |
| 2001-09-24 |
Hundreds of members of several radical Muslim groups went to five-star hotels here on Sunday to find out whether Americans were staying there, insisting that U.S. citizens should leave if the U.S. attacked Afghanistan. Riding cars and motorcycles, the groups, who called themselves the Anti-American Terrorist Soldiers, also went to nearby Adi Sumarmo International Airport, where they checked whether there had been any Americans landing in Surakarta over the last few days. "Some of them brought sticks with them but no sharp weapons," a security guard at Quality Hotel, told The Jakarta Post. "Thank God. They soon understood and left after I told them that no foreigners were staying at the hotel," Aris Supriyadi, a duty manager of Sahid Raya Hotel, told the Post. The three other hotels that were checked were Novotel, Agas and Lor In. Before leaving the hotels, they attached posters, which read, "Once Afghanistan is attacked, people from America and its allies have to get out of Solo (Surakarta)". The groups consisted of Laskar Santri, Surakarta Front of Islam Defender (FPI), Jundullah Force, Al Islah Force, Hawariyun Force, Hisbullah Brigade, Salamah Force and several other radical Muslim groups based in Surakarta. Some of the groups were those that joined a similar search for Americans in the city last year. Aris Supriyadi from a local hotel expressed concern over the groups' action because it might discourage visitors to the city. He said that the 'anti-American-sweep' in the city last year had caused the hotel occupancy rate in the city to drop to below 20 percent a day. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |