'Amien, please stay away'

SURABAYA: Banyuwangi Regent T. Purnomo Sidik has made an official plea for people not to invite opposition figure Amien Rais to the small East Javan town of Banywangi, about 230 kilometers southeast of here, fearing his arrival might incite violence.

His plea was made in a formal letter addressed to the East Java governor, the provincial director for social and political affairs and the Banyuwangi branch of the Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, among others.

Amien Rais is chairman of Muhammadiyah, which claims a membership of about 28 million.

Purnomo noted the presence of a group in the Banyumas area calling themselves "The Anti-Amien Rais Alliance", numbering about 1,000 people, which a week earlier held a demonstration in front of the town council.

Local Muhammadiyah leaders expressed regret at Purnomo's actions.

"There's an indication that such a demonstration is trying to pit Moslems against each other," local Muhammadiyah Youth chief Haeroni was quoted by Antara yesterday.