Don't pit me against Mega: Hamzah

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz pleaded on Sunday with his critics to refrain from creating a rift between him and President Megawati Soekarnoputri over differences in their respective positions with regard to the U.S. war on terrorism.

"I want to say here, please don't pit me against the President," Hamzah said after closing a national conference of the United Development Party (PPP), on Sunday.

Hamzah contended that his opposition against the U.S. campaign was his prerogative as chairman of the Muslim-based PPP, and therefore, it should not be contrasted with the government's statement.

"Please don't make it an antagonism. The statement from PPP will have special value for the President in running the government," he added without elaborating.

When opening the PPP national conference on Saturday, Hamzah insisted that the U.S. must cease the air strikes, claiming that the bombs had caused civilian casualties among Muslims.

In a statement issued on Sunday, PPP repeated Hamzah's call for the U.S. to stop the military campaign in Afghanistan, arguing that the attacks had aimed not only at military targets but also mosques and other civilian targets.

Despite the official PPP statement, no independent verification has yet been reported of targeting mosques or civilians, however.

Hamzah said the PPP statement over U.S. attacks was "wise and balanced."

The PPP statement differs from the government's official stance on the U.S.-led retaliation, which states that Indonesia is "concerned about the military actions."

However, Megawati took a tougher stance on Sunday night while speaking at an Ascension Day ceremony, saying that no government had the right to attack another country in a fight against terrorism. But the President stopped short of mentioning a specific country.

Political observer Riswandha Imawan from Gadjah Mada University said the different postures taken by Megawati and Hamzah over the U.S. attacks made it clear that they could not distance themselves from short-term political interests.

"The move by Hamzah will give an answer to the question: Who is more accommodating to the Muslim community?" he said, adding that this was actually a political strategy using the issue of the U.S.-Afghanistan war --of which Indonesia is not even indirectly involved-- as a pretext to gain support ahead of the 2004 elections in which Megawati will be his chief rival.

Megawati and Hamzah have made differing statements since the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11.

While Megawati was in the U.S. to express condolences over the deaths of 6,000 innocent civilians from 60 countries, including Indonesia, Hamzah said that the attacks would "cleanse the U.S. of its sins" against the rest of the world.

Hamzah also said that the government could not prevent Indonesian Muslims from going to Afghanistan to fight a holy war, but later, the government officially banned Indonesians from fighting in any other country's army, reminding people, including the Vice President, that the Constitution is very clear about that.

Riswandha emphasized that there must be a regulation or at least a code of ethics concerning the position of president and vice president, especially when they are also put in a situation of possible conflict as leaders of political parties.

"As a vice president, I think Hamzah should consult first with Megawati. Both figures must show unity in front of the people. With those differences, such speculation (of discord) is going to continue," he said.