President regrets anti-Obama rallies

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he regretted the number of rallies staged against the visit of US President Barack Obama, an Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) leader told the press Thursday.

Azyumardi Azra, chairman of the ICMI presidium, said that during a meeting with ICMI executives earlier in the day, the President said he considered the rallies were “overdone”.

Azra said the President called on the people not to treat Obama the same way they had treated former US president George W Bush, whose visit in 2006 was marked by protests.

“Obama's visit does not mean that Indonesia will become dependent on the United States,” Azra said, quoting the President.

The President, Azra said, explained that Obama's visit was to strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and United States in numerous fields.

After a number of changes, currently Obama's visit to Indonesia, the country where he spent four years of his childhood, is scheduled for March 23 and 24.