Students stage anti-US protests in front of Caltex office

At least 200 students from several universities in Riau staged on Wednesday an anti-America protest in front of PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) office in Rumbai, Pekanbaru, Koran Tempo reported.

The students demanded the United States to end the attacks against Afghanistan, which has been launched for more than a week in attempt to force the Taliban government to surrender alleged terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, believed to be involved in the recent attack against the World Trade Center building.

"We will continue to stage protests in Riau, particularly in Caltex until the U.S. ends its strike against Afghanistan,? Susanto, one of the student leaders, said.

Pedyo Oetomo, the spokesman for Caltex, a subsidiary of an American oil giant, said that the students? protests did not affect the activities of the company. Workers including American citizens conducted their daily activities as usual despite the protests, he said.

?The protests are against the US attacks not against Caltex,? he said.

Similar protests were also staged in other parts of the country. In Purwakarta, a group of students who called themselves the solidarity of Moslem students also staged an anti-US rally. (*)