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Indonesian black magic practitioner casts hex on Bush

BOGOR: A prominent Indonesian “black magic” practitioner on Thursday joined protests against US President George W Bush’s visit, slaughtering animals as he cast a spell aimed at disrupting the stay.

The ritual by Ki Gendeng Pamungkas took place at a busy roundabout in this hill town which will host talks between Bush and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.

Pamungkas said the ritual, which involved killing a snake, a black crow and a goat, deployed “Haitian-style voodoo” because “Indonesian black magic does not work on foreigners”. Smearing his face with a mixture of his own blood and that from the slaughtered animals into which broccoli and sugar cane was also cast, Pamungkas offered prayers to “Satan, who will bring disasters on Bush’s visit”. “My curse will make him bloat like broccoli. Bush will feel unease during the visit,” he said. Asked if he was confident the hex would work, Pamungkas said: “I’ve put voodoo curses on white men in Indonesia before, and they all died.”

Bush’s visit to Indonesia has triggered widespread protests, with daily street demonstrations as well as a threatened no-confidence motion against Yudhoyono. In Jakarta, some 600 Muslim students held a rally outside the US embassy against Bush’s second trip to Indonesia in three years. Indonesia’s armed forces said Thursday they will take no chances in safeguarding Bush while he is in the country, but denied charges that security arrangements for the visit are excessive. AFP

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