More than 100 Muslims attempted to expel US citizens from the town of Solo on Sunday in retaliation for Washington's stance on Indonesia and the Middle East, residents and a report said.
"They came here, about 100 of them, but the management managed to persuade them to leave peacefully," a telephone operator at the Novotel Hotel in Solo told AFP.
"They were looking for US nationals and wanted to tell them to leave the city," the operator said, adding that the group stayed for about 30 minutes.
She declined to offer further details and the hotel's management was in a meeting, she said. Solo is about 430 kilometers (267 miles) southeast of Jakarta.
The Detikcom online news service said members from four militant Muslim youth groups wanted all US citizen to leave Solo and Indonesia within 24 hours.
Detikcom said the group believed Washington was behind several cases of unrest in the country and they also lashed out at the US for its lack of impartiality over the violence in the Middle East.
Solo police declined comment, saying there were no reports of the incident.
Detikcom said the group planned to search the main hotels in Solo for US citizens.
"They came here, demanded to see the guest list and handed the hotel leaflets," said Anita of the Sahid Jaya hotel in Solo. She said the group left peacefully and there was no violence.
Anita said the leaflets were calling on all US citizens, including US Ambassador Robert Gelbard, to leave the country immediately or face "the consequences."
Gelbard has been fingered by Defense Minister Muhammad Mahfud as having tried to influence the recent appointment of the country's new army chief. The embassy has denied the charges.
A hotel staff member at the Quality hotel, also said the group had visited the hotel and demanded a copy of the guest list.
"They wanted a print out of the list, and we gave it to them. There are no Americans currently staying at our hotel," said the staff member, who identified herself as Irene.
Anti-US sentiment has been on the rise in Indonesia, after weeks of Israeli violence in the West Bank and the Gaza strip.
Resentment against the US was further fueled by Mahfud's statements that accused Washington of meddling in Indonesia's internal affairs and of involvement in the unrest in Irian Jaya and West Timor -- JAKARTA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
