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Bali Hindus resent cabinet minister's slur against religion

Hindus in the tourist island of Bali have threatened to stage a strike unless President B J Habibie fires a cabinet minister accused of insulting the minority religion.

Indonesian media reports have quoted Food Minister A M Saefuddin as saying that opposition faction leader Megawati Sukarnoputri does not deserve Indonesian presidency because she is a Hindu.

"We give a longest deadline of one-month,'' protest coordinator I Nyoman Japa was quoted as saying by the official Antara news agency.

"If our demands are not fulfilled, then Hindus all over Indonesia are ready to join in the mass strike,'' said Japa, who leads the People's Complaint Action, a movement set up to protest the remark.

The group demanded Saefuddin, a Muslim party leader, withdraw his remarks, apologise to Hindus and resign. It also demanded that he be questioned and put on trial.

Also, a group representing hotel employees staged a protest at the offices of the Bali governor and the local council in Denpasar, denouncing Saefuddin.

Saefuddin was reported to have asked: "Are the Indonesian people willing to have a Hindu president?''

He has apologised, saying he had no intention of insulting any religion.

Megawati's paternal grandmother came from the predominantly Hindu island of Bali. Her father, the late president Sukarno, and her mother were Muslims.

UNI

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