NU leader urged to drop charges<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A political observer in East Java has urged a
\nsenior Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader to drop his libel charge
\nagainst chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Ali Haidar of the Surabaya Teachers' Training Institute said
\nAbu Hasan's plan to have Abdurrahman prosecuted would break with
\nthe Moslem organization's tradition of resolving conflicts
\ninternally.<\/p>\n
Ali, who is currently studying for his doctorate at the State
\nInstitute for Islamic Studies in Jakarta, said Abu Hasan is
\nrisking his own position and popularity within NU by breaking
\nthat tradition.<\/p>\n
Police, who have been working on the case since January,
\nhanded the dossier against Abdurrahman to the Attorney General's
\nOffice last week, saying that the case was now ready to be tried.<\/p>\n
National Police chief spokesman Brig. Gen. I Ketut Ratta said
\nthat they had enough witnesses to support the libel prosecution.<\/p>\n
Abu Hasan lost out to Abdurrahman in a bitter election for the
\nNU chairmanship at the organization's congress in Cipasung, West
\nJava, last December.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who has been at the helm since 1984, was
\nreelected for a third five-year term, later excluded Abu Hasan
\nwhen he named the line up of the executive board.<\/p>\n
Abu Hasan, a businessman, subsequently filed a complaint with
\nthe National Police alleging Abdurrahman made slanderous remarks
\nagainst him during the NU election race.<\/p>\n
He said that Abdurrahman had falsely accused him of accepting
\nRp 18 billion commission from a project at Jakarta's Tanjung
\nPriok port. This accusation, he said, cost him the election as
\nwell as a seat in the new NU executive board.<\/p>\n
Abu Hasan also accused Abdurrahman of manipulating the votes
\nat the NU election.<\/p>\n
Ali Haidar warned that if Abu Hasan pressed on with the libel
\nsuit, then he and his supporters would earn the wrath of NU's
\nkyai (elder leaders) as well as other NU members.<\/p>\n
"NU follows the Javanese culture where problems are resolved
\namicably through consensus," he said.<\/p>\n
Ali Haidar pointed out that Abdurrahman could in fact counter-
\nsue Abu Hasan for accusing him of rigging the votes at the
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman was not involved in voting and the ballot
\ncounting, he said, adding that Abu Hasan, as chairman of the
\ncongress' organizing committee, was more involved with the
\nelection process.<\/p>\n
Regarding the allegation that Abu Hasan accepted a commission
\nfor arranging a business deal, Ali Haidar said that the rumor did
\nnot originate with Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
In fact, some of the senior NU leaders at the December
\ncongress had previously heard the allegation.<\/p>\n
He added that it was the job of the election committee to
\ncheck on the background of any aspiring chairman candidate,
\nincluding rumors of past misconduct. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nu-leader-urged-to-drop-charges-1447893297",
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