NU ambivalent about mass rally<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) officials refused on Friday
\nto take a position on the possibility of its members flooding the
\ncapital in support of President Abdurrahman Wahid in the coming
\nspecial session of the People's Consultative Assembly, saying
\nthey would neither send nor deter them.<\/p>\n
The chairman of NU's East Java branch, Ali Maschan Moesa,
\nmaintained that NU would not mobilize its followers to go to the
\ncapital, but neither was it in a position to prevent them should
\nthey desire to show their support for the President.<\/p>\n
"NU will never support unrest, but the Assembly should listen
\nto the people's voices and if they continue to pursue the special
\nsession, which is unconstitutional, the people themselves may
\ndissolve the Assembly," Ali told The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
He underlined that people have a right to show their
\ndiscontent toward the Assembly.<\/p>\n
"We will try to calm the people, but you have to remember that
\nAbdurrahman's supporters are not just NU followers," Ali
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman led NU, the largest Muslim organization in the
\ncountry, for one-and-a-half decades before he was elected
\npresident in 1999.<\/p>\n
The specter of a mass flood of Abdurrahman's supporters
\ncontinues to be a possibility, with some fearing that the
\nconcentration of large crowds could incite unrest.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ansor chairman Saifullah Yusuf said that all Ansor
\nmembers should stay in their respective areas and help the public
\nmaintain security ahead of and after the Assembly special
\nsession.<\/p>\n
"They have to leave political problems to their leaders and
\nstay in their respective areas. I will prevent them from flooding
\nthe capital," Saifullah told the Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
Ansor is the youth wing of NU.<\/p>\n
He further remarked that Ansor will not organize any kind of
\nmass mobilization ahead of the Assembly special session and urged
\nall members to cooperate with other organizations to keep the
\ncountry peaceful. (dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nu-ambivalent-about-mass-rally-1447893297",
"image": ""
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