Megawati's setback<\/p>\n
Your report on Sunday, June 27, with the headline Megawati's
\nbid suffers setback, which stated that "Abdurrahman Wahid, Amien
\nRais, Nur Mahmudi Ismail and Hamzah Haz agreed on Saturday that
\nIslam bars women from becoming heads of state" clearly distorts
\nthe substance of the discussions among the four politicians. Your
\nreporters have clearly missed the point of their conclusion.<\/p>\n
The opening paragraph of your article, which stated that the
\nfour politicians agreed that "Islam bars women from becoming
\nheads of state" makes it seem that the discussion among the four
\nmen resulted in such a conclusion. That is clearly not the point.<\/p>\n
It is true that Abdurrahman Wahid said that, "If Megawati is
\nelected, Islamic groups will not accept her", but in this case it
\nis clear that he is offering a general statement, and not
\nnecessarily stating his own views and opinions.<\/p>\n
The meetings among the four leaders seemed to be aimed to find
\na solution in anticipation of a deadlock in the presidential
\nelection in November, and actually not meant at all to set back
\nMegawati's bid for presidency.<\/p>\n
Indonesian politics is complex as it is. Please take care so
\nas to minimize further distortion of Indonesia's complex
\npolitical issues.<\/p>\n
AMIR SIDHARTA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawatis-setback-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }