Ciganjur alumni to meet Habibie
Ciganjur alumni to meet Habibie
JAKARTA (JP): The planned Ciganjur II meeting is scheduled to
take place this Saturday at the residence of President B.J.
Habibie rather than in Yogyakarta as initially announced, sources
told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
A source said Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto was
also expected to attend.
The first Ciganjur meeting took place last November when
National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais, Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Yogyakarta
monarch and governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri were brought together by university students at
Abdurrahman's residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.
"The meeting will be attended by the alumni of the first
Ciganjur meeting, including Gus Dur, Amien and Sultan
Hamengkubuwono," one source said.
He added it was still not certain whether Megawati would
attend the meeting, but he quoted Abdurrahman as saying he was
"75 percent sure Megawati would come".
The source said the planned meeting, initiated by Abdurrahman,
would attempt to reach a consensus on the next presidency.
"Apparently the meeting will try to persuade Megawati to back
down from her bid for the presidency," the source said.
Golkar Party deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman, meanwhile, told
the Post it was highly unlikely Megawati would agree to attend
the meeting.
"I've talked to PDI Perjuangan leaders and they told me they
were not going to give up the race for the presidency," Marzuki
said in a telephone interview from Singapore.
Prior to the June 7 general election, the Ciganjur group was
considered to represent most Indonesians, and its opinion was
taken into account by the Special Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly last November, he said.
The group issued the Ciganjur Declaration, which included the
motion to phase out the military's political role.
Earlier, Amien said the agenda for the second Ciganjur meeting
had not yet been decided, though it would most likely focus on
candidates for the presidency. (lem)