Indonesian lawmaker seeks "Saddam Street" in Jakarta

JAKARTA (AFP) Apr 16, 2003
An Indonesian legislator has proposed that a street in the capital Jakarta be renamed after Saddam Hussein to commemorate what he calls the heroic struggle of the Iraqi people against the US-led invasion.

Sabam Sirait, from President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, was quoted by Wednesday's Jakarta Post as saying he has asked the party's Jakarta branch and the city council to pursue the plan.

The people and government of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, strongly opposed the US-led attacks. But protesters expressed relatively little sympathy for Saddam.

Last week Megawati forecast a long war because of what she called the Iraqis' strong sense of patriotism.

SPACE.WIRE