Thousands to gather in support of Akbar<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Security forces will be on alert as at least 40,000 Golkar
\nsupporters from Aceh converge on the capital to put pressure on
\nthe Attorney General's Office to let the party chairman Akbar
\nTandjung leave the country for a haj pilgrimage in Mecca.<\/p>\n
The Acehnese, coming from various regencies in the restive
\nprovince, will express their moral support for Akbar, who the
\nAttorney General's Office has named a suspect in an alleged
\nmisuse of Rp 40 billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency
\n(Bulog) when he was the minister\/state secretary in 1999.<\/p>\n
"We from Serambi Mekah won't let certain people prevent the
\ngood intention of Akbar Tandjung to perform a haj pilgrimage. We
\nare ready to call a jihad for Akbar," chairman of Golkar's Aceh
\nprovincial chapter Muntasi Hamid told Antara at the party's
\nheadquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Many observers as well as President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nhave criticized street democracy and the mob mentality that often
\nresults.<\/p>\n
Aceh is also known as Serambi Mekah (Terrace of Mecca) given
\nthe fact that the territory became the first base of Islam in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office has so far not slapped a travel
\nban on Akbar, who is also the House of Representatives speaker,
\nbut has required him to seek its approval before leaving the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Akbar, who said the pilgrimage had long been planned, is
\nscheduled to depart on Feb. 14, along with the last group of more
\nthan 180,000 Indonesian pilgrims whose dispatch began on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Muntasir said some 25,000 Acehnese had arrived in Jakarta,
\nwhile the rest were on their way to the capital. Most of them
\ncome from East Aceh.<\/p>\n
"We don't know exactly who has registered with us for this
\ntrip, perhaps 50,000 or even 70,000. There are at least 40,000
\npeople already on our list," Muntasir said.<\/p>\n
He said the party supporters left their homes for Jakarta
\nvoluntarily. Their trip was funded by Golkar legislators from
\nAceh and some businessmen, according to Muntasir.<\/p>\n
"We think those who bar someone from performing the haj must
\nbe questioned whether they uphold the state ideology of Pancasila
\nor follow communism," he asserted.<\/p>\n
Muntasir guaranteed that the Acehnese would not take to the
\nstreets to vent their anger in a chaotic way.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-to-gather-in-support-of-akbar-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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