Planned meeting on 'Green Dragon' dropped<\/p>\n
SURAKARTA (JP): A senior leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
\nruled out yesterday convening a special meeting to discuss
\nallegations of a plot to discredit the Moslem organization and
\nits leadership.<\/p>\n
Ilyas Ruchiyat, chairman of NU's syuriah (law-making body),
\nsaid a decision on what should be done about Green Dragon, the
\ncodename of the purported plot, was the responsibility of
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the executive board.<\/p>\n
The NU's leadership felt there was no need to discuss the
\nissue; in a plenary meeting in Jakarta last month the issue was
\nnot raised, he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman went public with allegations of a covert operation
\nSunday, though he did not say which person or organization was
\nbehind the plot.<\/p>\n
The riots that rocked Situbondo, East Java in October and
\nTasikmalaya, West Java in December were intended to sow
\ninstability and make NU the scapegoat, he said, adding there
\ncould well be other riots in the future. Both Situbondo and
\nTasikmalaya are predominantly NU-towns.<\/p>\n
He said the operation followed the Red Dragon Operation last
\nyear that saw Megawati Soekarnoputri removed from the leadership
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
Ilyas nevertheless called on NU members to be on the alert and
\nseek out more information on the alleged operation, either from
\ntheir NU branch offices or from their Jakarta headquarters.<\/p>\n
\"I agree there are certain groups that dislike NU, and they
\nare spreading rumors aimed at ruining NU's image and
\ndestabilizing the community,\" Ilyas said.<\/p>\n
Muladi, a professor of law from Diponegoro University in
\nSemarang and a member of the National Commission on Human Rights,
\ndismissed the purported operations as non-sense.<\/p>\n
\"I don't believe either the Green Dragon or the Red Dragon
\noperations exist,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He cautioned NU leaders and other informal leaders against
\nmaking statements that could cause controversy and anxiety.<\/p>\n
He did admit the vast influence NU commands makes it a major
\nforce in Indonesian politics. NU is the largest Moslem
\norganization in Indonesia with an estimated 30 million followers,
\nmainly in rural Indonesia. (har\/08)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/planned-meeting-on-green-dragon-dropped-1447893297",
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