Belo uproar too emotional, says Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): The recent uproar over the East Timor bishop's alleged remarks in a German magazine has been too emotional, says a prominent Moslem leader.

Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, said people have been over reacting to something yet to be clarified.

"Belo didn't make a written statement, did he?," said the leader of the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama, "he supposedly denied what was reported in Der Spiegel, what are we fussing about?"

Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo has been under fire these days over remarks in the magazine which allegedly bad mouthed the Armed Forces.

Had he talked about alleged human rights violations in the province, the only mistake he would have made, perhaps, would have been the fact that he was talking to foreign media, he said.

"Now, why all the fuss over the report? Couldn't we just straighten the matter up," he said.

Gus Dur said the issue has been blown up mostly by Moslem groups.

"A few others come from members of the Armed Forces but they are mostly parroting what others have said. Hasn't Armed Forces Chief General Feisal Tandjung said not to blow up the case?" Gus Dur said.

Gus Dur called on the public to be patient in dealing with the issue because to many East Timorese Belo is the symbol of their existence.

The anger vented toward the bishop stems from the long time resentment harbored by some Moslems over the Catholic East Timorese treatment of migrant Moslems in the province, he said.

The emotional reaction toward Belo only reflects some groups' failure to look for the root of the problem in the province, he said.

Gus Dur said he believed the root of the problems lay in the wide economic gap between native East Timorese and migrants from other provinces, who are mostly Moslems.

"The motivation of the East Timorese for getting rid of Bugis and Madura immigrants is social envy. This is perceived by many as a clash of religion. We need to understand this better. A failure to look into this matter seriously will mean fighting each other endlessly. There is no religious or ethnic problem between the East Timorese and the migrants but there is an economic problem," he said.

The migrants are more creative, tough and disciplined compared to the East Timorese.

"Don't forget the East Timorese learned to plow their fields only 15 years ago," he said.

Gus Dur suggested a three-pronged solution to the problems in East Timor: to further foster local cultural identity, let NGOs help the local community development, and set up a good communications between the executive, legislative and judicial institutions. (08)