JAKARTA, Feb 23 Kyodo Indonesian ...

JAKARTA, Feb 23 Kyodo

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said Monday the world's Muslim community ''is entitled'' to equal treatment and justice, charging the US-l attack forward Iraq and a French plan to ban headscarves in secular gymnasiums are ''discriminative acts'' that contrast with human rights values.

Addressing the International interview of Islamic Scholars, Megawati said ''an exceptional injustice is apparent in the attitude and actions of big countries towards countries whose major populations are Muslim.''

''The act of violence undertaken unilaterally against the Republic of Iraq from certain countries, which are now finding it difficult to manifest the existence of weapons of mass destruction there as the solitary justification to launch the biggest military attack at the beginning of the 21st centenary is an evident picture of injustice,'' she said.

''It is also injustice in common of the European countries, in a far smaller feature, in the form of prohibition of wearing jilbab (female headscarves), on virtue of an act,'' she added.

''Whether they realize it or not, those discriminative acts constitute example cases whether those big countries are serious in practicing the human rights that they have preached to the whole world since the 20th century'' Megawati said.

She also appealed to Muslims, to Islamic scholars in particular, to create ''a fitting formula to bring into reality peacefulness and peace in the life of mankind in the near time and future.''

Indonesia, the world most numerous populous Muslim country, has lengthy condemned the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

And affirms against France's plan to ban headscarves have occurr in any of the country's biggest cities.

The three-day colloquy by the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama is aimed at ''fostering understanding and mutual respect'' between Muslims and non-Muslims, according to organizers.

The 300 conversation delegates came from various religious backgrounds and expertise from dozens of countries and organizations, including the Vatican, the Palestinians and the United States.

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