Abdurrahman brushes aside extramarital affair charge<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid, when asked by
\njournalists on Tuesday, brushed aside questions about news
\nreports claiming he had an extramarital affair.<\/p>\n
He neither confirming nor denied the report.<\/p>\n
\"Why should you bother with such a thing?\" was the President's
\nonly reply to journalists who tried to ask him about the report
\nas he was being escorted from Bina Graha presidential office to
\nhis official residence at Merdeka Palace.<\/p>\n
While his brother, colleagues and staff have all refuted the
\nallegations which surfaced during a magazine interview, this was
\nthe only comment that Abdurrahman has made so far.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday senior Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) figures in Central Java
\nand East Java called on the organization's 30 million members not
\nto be provoked by reports that President Abdurrahman Wahid had
\nhad an extramarital affair with a housewife.<\/p>\n
NU Central Java chairman Muhammad Adnan urged NU members to
\nstay calm and not overreact to such reports.<\/p>\n
Adnan remarked that he would not be surprised if the report of
\nthe affair was followed by other slanderous accusations in a bid
\nto topple the President.<\/p>\n
\"The rumor was made in a very clear attempt to provoke the
\nPresident, to get him to suffer another stroke or fall ill again.
\nIf that happens the irresponsible groups expect that their choice
\nwill be appointed as Gus Dur's successor,\" Adnan remarked.<\/p>\n
The senior ulema, however, hinted that the more smear
\ncampaigns launched against the President, the stronger his
\nposition would be.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's name is almost synonymous with NU, which he
\nchaired for nearly 15 years.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, East Java's NU chief Ali Muschan Moesa alleged
\nthat \"certain groups\" had distributed fabricated photographs of
\nAbdurrahman and housewife Aryanti together in a compromising
\nposition.<\/p>\n
According to Ali, he had instructed NU branches throughout the
\nprovince to control their youths, especially civilian militia
\ngroup Banser, and to make sure that they did not react violently.<\/p>\n
\"We must think calmly, and not become emotional. We want to
\nprevent excessive reactions,\" Ali said.<\/p>\n
Gatra weekly published a report and an interview alleging that
\nAbdurrahman in 1995 had an affair with Aryanti Sitepu.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, M. Sobary, Antara news agency general manager and
\na close friend of the President, said he felt the report in Gatra
\nwas a balanced journalistic report.<\/p>\n
\"This time the Gatra report is very honorable, very ethical.
\nYou must read the report in that context, not in another sense,\"
\nSobary said after meeting with the President at Bina Graha.<\/p>\n
Declining to disclose whether he also discussed the report
\nwith the President, Sobary also defended the news agency's report
\nabout the appeal of NU leaders in East Java who asked NU members
\nnot to react to the baseless claim.<\/p>\n
Sobary, a columnist, played down the magazine's insistence
\nthat it became more confident about carrying the story on the
\nalleged affair after the agency's report about the case last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
\"Antara just reported a circular from East Java ulemas. So do
\nnot blame us, we just helped to publicize the circular and to
\ncalm down NU people so that they should not be provoked,\" Sobary
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The magazine quoted Aryanti as saying that she divorce her
\nhusband M. Yanur in October 1996, following Abdurrahman's promise
\nto marry her.<\/p>\n
Aryanti married again in April 1998 to Muhammad Ali, after she
\nrealized that she would not be able to marry Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security
\nAffair Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, when asked to comment on the
\nreport, said it was Abdurrahman's private matter and it was up to
\nAbdurrahman himself to explain the issue to the public.<\/p>\n
\"The issue is not the government's business and I believe it
\nis not in my authority to say anything about it because the
\nPresident can speak for himself to explain to the public about
\nthe matter,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
Several usually outspoken legislators and critics of the
\nPresident also seemed hesitant to comment on the report, saying
\nit would be unethical.<\/p>\n
Legislator Alvin Lie from the National Mandate Party refused
\nto comment on the report, saying that such a tactic was worthless
\nas a political tool to attack the President.<\/p>\n
\"It's not elegant to use the scandal against Abdurrahman. Let
\nit be handled by Gus Dur's wife,\" Alvin remarked. (team)<\/p>",
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