Yudhoyono deplores anti-Obama rallies

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono deplored the recent wave of rallies across the country demonstrating against the pending visit of US President Barack Obama to Indonesia next week, a Muslim scholar said Thursday.  
Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) chairman Azyumardi Azra said after meeting Yudhoyono that Obama’s planned visit did not mean Indonesia was being dictated to by the world’s superpower.
“Obama loves and appreciates Indonesia. That is why President Yudhoyono deplores the rallies protesting the US president’s visit,” Azra said as quoted by Antara.  — JP