'Amien, please stay away'

'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.