The Security Minister of the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, Wednesday warned that the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan could spark a general conflagration between the West and the rest of the world. "Indonesia is very concerned and worried," said Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "If this conflict widens, then many countries will be destabilized. This will create a new unwanted conflict, for example the West against non-western countries, the United States versus the rest of the world."
Yudhoyono made the comments just days before Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri meets U.S. President George W. Bush at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shanghai. She left for Hong Kong Wednesday.
On Sunday, Megawati - under pressure from a coalition of Muslim political parties - said that no nation has the right to attack another. But she stopped short of withdrawing Indonesia's support for the U.S.-led international war on terrorism.
A wave of anti-American protests that engulfed Indonesia after the start of the bombing campaign has abated in recent days.
Bureau Report