Critics reproach Gus Dur for staying calm despite problem

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid became the target of sharp criticism as critics here on Tuesday reproached his seeming obliviousness to the nation's problems. Critics mocked him for calmly sipping tea abroad while people at home were killing each other in a bloody ethnic conflict.

Respected scholar Nurcholish Madjid on Tuesday did not mince words when asked what he thought Abdurrahman should do: "Gus Dur should return home!"

"The dignity (of a president) is not determined by the number of foreign tours he engages in, but in the success in overcoming and resolving problems at home," Nurcholish charged.

"Events in Sampit have become too big. He must recognize that the conflict is part of his personal responsibility as president...it is part of his personal problem and similarly Vice President Megawati (Soekarnoputri) should feel the same way."

Ethnic violence in the small town of Sampit has spread to other areas of Central Kalimantan. The death toll has risen to over 300, with thousands of refugees clamoring to get out of the province.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is on a two-week tour of Middle East and African countries, is not expected back till March 7.

In Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday the President again reiterated that after speaking to Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta, he has decided to continue his tour.

"I decided to leave the country because everything is running in Indonesia," Abdurrahman remarked while revealing that Megawati had also opposed his latest foreign tour.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais further disparaged the President's seemingly careless attitude while people were killing each other at home.

"I don't understand how the President could enjoy a cup of tea overseas while his people in Central Kalimantan are killing one another," he said.

Amien insisted that the President return home immediately since he has a moral responsibility toward all things happening at home.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Child Protection urged Vice President Megawati as chief of the National Coordinating Board for disasters and refugees to visit riot-torn Central Kalimantan soon.

"Since President Abdurrhaman persists in completing his foreign tour, Megawati must be proactive and visit Sampit and Palangka Raya to obtain first-hand information about the situation," commission director Arist Merdeka Sirait told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Censure

The riots in Central Kalimantan and Abdurrahman's insistence on remaining overseas will likely further politically compromise the President's standing following the House of Representative's recent censure and memorandum against him.

Amien Rais even indicated that it will be the trigger for the House to issue a second memorandum which could pave the way for the convening of a special Assembly session to impeach the President.

"In my observation members of the House from various factions, and even faction chairmen, have agreed that the second memorandum will be issued on May 1," said Amien who has been campaigning avidly in recent weeks for an accelerated special Assembly session.

He even likened the situation to a burning house: "If this house of ours which is the republic is ablaze, do we have to wait till it escalates before putting it out?"

The President himself insisted in Nigeria that "nobody can bring me down because the Constitution stipulates that I will be the president until 2004."

"There are suggestions that I am incapable of running the country ... what matters to me is that people are still going to the streets to support me when I visit the provinces."

Abdurrahman further bragged that Aceh, Riau and Irian Jaya "would immediately declare independence" if he resigned and that the situation would not necessarily improve since "the prospect (of good leadership) from my possible successor is also doubtful."

Meanwhile back in Jakarta the National Awakening Party (PKB) described the violence as "a systematic effort to discredit President Abdurrahman's administration and to provide reasons to topple him prior to the end of the memorandum."

"The horizontal conflicts vividly reflect conflicts at the elite level. The riots are engineered by invisible hands that are aimed to create instability, leading the nation to blame Gus Dur and oust him for his failure," PKB's Taufikurrachman Saleh said. (02/byg/rms/edt)