Armed Forces chief endorses planned ulemas meeting

Armed Forces chief endorses planned ulemas meeting

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung
has endorsed a planned meeting of ulemas who are locked in a
power struggle within the Moslem-based United Development Party
(PPP).

The military's support was announced by Lt. Gen. Hartono,
chief of ABRI's socio-political affairs, to PPP deputy chairman
Hamzah Haz who will lead the controversial meeting.

"We're happy the Armed Forces Commander backs the plan," a
beaming Hamzah, who is one of the leading candidates for the PPP
leadership, told journalists after meeting with Hartono.

The conference to be held in the Central Java town of Rembang
on June 26 will bring together some 75 ulemas from across
Indonesia under the umbrella of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's
largest Moslem organization that boasts 34 million members.

The planned conference has evoked controversy among Moslem
scholars and politicians.

Critics say the gathering is inconsistent with the NU's vow
made 10 years ago to shun formal politics and focus on its
original social and educational mission.

Several influential ulemas have reportedly approached the
Rembang regent asking him to ban the meeting.

Last week, activists from NU Younger Generation Forum picketed
a wedding reception in the Central Java town of Purwokerto at
which NU leaders were present.

But Hamzah argued that the ulemas will hold a meeting on their
own terms and that NU is not involved.

PPP, an amalgamation of four Moslem political parties - NU,
Parmusi, PSII and Perti -- will hold its five-yearly national
congress here from Aug. 29 through Sept. 3 to elect its new board
of executives.

Observers see the Rembang meeting as an effort by NU to design
a strategy to snatch the PPP chairmanship currently dominated by
politicians from Parmusi.

Rural areas

The influential NU chairman, Abdurrahman Wahid, says the next
PPP top slot must go to someone from his organization, which has
its strongest bases in rural areas.

But Hamzah, who chairs PPP's faction in the House of
Representatives (DPR), dismissed this speculation, saying that
the scholars will discuss ways to improve the party's performance
in the 1997 general election. "The Rembang conference will be
held out of our concern about how to make PPP a strong party."

He said the conference will serve as the continuation of a
similar meeting in Jakarta held last month in which the ulemas,
dismayed by PPP's performance in the 1992 election, agreed to
contribute their ideas to developing the party.

With 62 seats in the DPR, PPP is clearly second fiddle behind
the government-backed Golkar. It is worried about being overtaken
by the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which now holds 56
seats.

The Rembang gathering will be hosted by KH Cholil Bisri, who
runs the Islamic boarding school (pesantren) where the meeting
will take place.

On an unrelated occasion yesterday, Minister of Religious
Affairs Tarmizi Taher expressed his hope that the ensuing power
struggle within PPP would not affect Moslem boarding schools run
by NU.

"I personally believe the schools are resilient enough to
endure the current heated political climate spurred by bickering
within PPP," he said as quoted by Antara.

Tarmizi was in Malang, East Java, yesterday to visit Moslem
boarding schools and other Islamic institutes. (pan)