Balinese to prayer for end to rift

DENPASAR, Bali: Hindus in Bali are planning a mass prayer this Thursday for an immediate and peaceful end to the rift between them and Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin, Antara news agency reported on Monday.

The chief of the Bali provincial religious affairs ministry office, I Gusti Bagus Lingga, said in Denpasar that the mass prayer would be centered in the Besakih Grand Temple, about 80 kilometers east of the provincial capital.

"The mass prayer will be held in the hope that the complex problem faced by Hindus regarding Saefuddin's recent remarks may be solved peacefully and immediately," he said, adding that the idea of the mass prayer came from Hindu religious leaders in the province.

Hindus have staged a wave of demonstrations on the tourist resort island against Saefuddin's remarks which were considered insulting. Many others in Jakarta and Surabaya in East Java have also protested against his comments.

Before a Cabinet meeting about three weeks ago, Saefuddin said he would nominate himself as the next president. He said he would defeat Megawati Soekarnoputri, also nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction not recognized by the government, because as a Moslem he would win the majority of Moslem votes, rather than Megawati who he said was a Hindu.

Many groups in Bali have demanded that Saefuddin be fired from his job as a minister because of his remarks.

Bagus Lingga denied that the predominantly Hindu Bali had threatened to establish a separate state if President B.J. Habibie refused to fire Saefuddin. Bagus Lingga called for a dialog between Saefuddin and Hindus, in Bali or in Jakarta, to help solve the rift as soon as possible.

"It looks impossible to hold such a forum at the present. But it will be possible after the People's Consultative Assembly's upcoming Special Session," he said. (rms)