Experts differ on Gus Dur's intent in meeting Soeharto
Experts differ on Gus Dur's intent in meeting Soeharto
JAKARTA (JP): Controversy surrounding Abdurrahman Wahid's
latest political maneuver continued on Tuesday with scholars
issuing different opinions on whether it was justified for the
Muslim leader to involve former president Soeharto in a planned
dialog for national reconciliation.
Ali Mufiz, a professor at the School of Social and Political
sciences at Diponegoro University, hailed Abdurrahman's courage
to swim against the current of public will by inviting Soeharto
to the dialog.
Separately, Muhadjir Darwin, a lecturer at the School of
Social and Political Sciences at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada
University said Abdurrahman visited Soeharto on Saturday not
because he wanted a national dialog but to eclipse his political
rival, Amien Rais.
Amien, also a Muslim leader, is a central figure in the reform
movement. Both men, however, are part of the Ciganjur group of
reform leaders which also consists of Megawati Soekarnoputri and
Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, met for the second
time with Soeharto and said the former president should be
involved in a national dialog because, despite his resignation
last May, he was still powerful.
Ali said that Abdurrahman's political maneuver should be
understood comprehensively because it was aimed at helping to end
the rampant violence and at seeking a peaceful solution to the
ongoing political crisis.
"I am of the opinion that Gus Dur's political maneuver is for
the nation's good and for unity," he said.
He said he did not envision Abdurrahman seeking to satisfy any
personal interest by his move.
He said, however, that it would be difficult to start a dialog
immediately as it would require much time for all parties to
agree to a common vision.
Soeharto, President B.J. Habibie and Armed Forces Commander
Gen. Wiranto, for instance, have their own concepts about the
national dialog.
Muhadjir said Abdurrahman's meeting with Soeharto should be
understood as a straight shot at Amien Rais. It was intended to
create the impression that the latter was awkward and less
accommodative toward other parties.
"Gus Dur met Soeharto not to establish reconciliation with the
latter but to remove Amien from the national political stage," he
said.
He said that with such a political maneuver, Abdurrahman was
seeking to establish support from the powerful group which wanted
to maintain the status quo. He said the move would cause a
division among proreform groups.
"A national dialog would be impossible without Amien Rais.
Soeharto's presence in the national dialog and Amien's removal
would be the reform movement's anticlimax," he said. (har/44/rms)