Rally in support of Gus Dur turns violent<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A Golkar Party branch office in Pasuruan, East
\nJava was attacked as rallies in support for President Abdurrahman
\n\"Gus Dur\" Wahid continued on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Riding vehicles and yelling support for the embattled
\nPresident, some 75 angry people stoned the glass windows of the
\nGolkar office in Paci district on their way back home from a mass
\nrally in Bangil square.<\/p>\n
No casualties were reported in the attack, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
A witness, Ismail, told the news agency the incident happened
\nsuddenly so that nobody could stop it. He said another group of
\nGus Dur supporters arrived later in the day, but this time police
\nwere already in place to prevent further destruction.<\/p>\n
The mass rally in Pasuruan was part of mass gatherings held
\nalmost simultaneously across East Java by people who pledged to
\nkeep Gus Dur in his current post until his term ends in 2004.<\/p>\n
East Java is the main stronghold of Gus Dur supporters.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the protesters blockaded the road linking
\nSitubondo and Banyuwangi with logs of wood placed in the streets,
\ncausing massive a traffic jam in the area.<\/p>\n
A similar rally also took place in the Central Java capital of
\nSemarang, when thousands of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) supporters
\nconverged at the local legislature to warn people of remnants of
\nthe New Order regime whom they accused of masterminding the move
\nto topple Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
The foreseeable tension escalated after the House of
\nRepresentatives censured Abdurrahman on Thursday over his alleged
\ninvolvement in two financial scandals, dubbed Buloggate and
\nBruneigate. Many Gus Dur supporters believe the investigation
\ninto Gus Dur's role in the scandals is part of constitutional
\nattempts to oust the controversial President.<\/p>\n
Pressures for Abdurrahman to resign have mounted since then,
\nincluding from People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais and
\nother parties who catapulted him to presidency last year.<\/p>\n
After overnight rallies, thousands of Abdurrahman's supporters
\ntook to streets on Sunday in the East Java towns of Pasuruan,
\nMalang, Mojokerto, Probolinggo and Sidoarjo.<\/p>\n
A group of activists claiming to represent the Alliance Forum
\nof People and Students in Pasuruan held a speech forum at the
\ncross road of the highway linking Malang and Surabaya, causing
\ntraffic congestion for four hours.<\/p>\n
Among their demands was the dissolution of Golkar, which they
\naccused of representing the interests of the old regime.<\/p>\n
In Malang, Abdurrahman supporters grouped as the Anti-New
\nOrder Committee (KRAOB) took to streets in a motorcade. They
\ncriticized the result of the House investigation into the Bulog
\nand Brunei scandals and accused Golkar and the loose coalition of
\nMuslim-based parties called Axis Force of conspiring to oust the
\nPresident through the House special committee.<\/p>\n
In response to the rallies, chief of East Java's National
\nAwakening Party (PKB) Choirul Anam said he had called on the party
\nsupporters not to take to the streets.<\/p>\n
\"We can only persuade, but we were unable to stop them. This
\nwas a spontaneous move to express their disagreement with the
\npolitical elite in the House,\" Choirul said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, calls for Golkar's dissolution were also aired by
\n11 Muslim-based political parties that are unrepresented in the
\nHouse.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar should be held responsible for the country's hardships
\nover the past years, so it should be dissolved as its presence
\nhampers the reform movement,\" chairman of the alliance of parties
\nDeliar Noer said in Jakarta on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Rallies against Abdurrahman also continued on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Speaking before around 10,000 supporters of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) at the Alun-alun Utara square in front of
\nYogyakarta Palace, chief of the party's provincial chapter Fauzi
\nA.R. said PPP followers in the town were fully behind the House
\nin connection with its showdown with the President.<\/p>\n
\"PPP continues to urge the House to adopt follow-up measures
\nas a political consequence of its censure against President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid,\" Fauzi said.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur has failed in carrying out the reform mandate,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Held under heavy rain, the gathering coincided with the
\nparty's 28th anniversary celebration.<\/p>\n
Besides the PPP's local executives, also present at the
\ncelebration were deputy chairman of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) Husni Thamrin and party activist Moedrick S.
\nSangidoe from Surakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
PPP Yogyakarta also asked Yogyakarta governor Sultan
\nHamengkubuwono X, to clearly state his stance towards Gus Dur's
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"He once invited national figures including Gus Dur, Megawati,
\nAmien Rais, and Akbar Tandjung to meet at his palace. He should
\nnot keep silent right now,\" Moedrick said.<\/p>\n
Husni Thamrin further said that Gus Dur was only \"buying
\ntime.\" (nur\/swa\/edt\/har\/dja)<\/p>",
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