Groups decry Abdurrahman remark about Maluku strife

JAKARTA (JP): Muslim groups protested on Thursday President Abdurrahman Wahid's remarks about the Muslim community in Maluku and his proposal to lift the ban on communism.

No clashes were reported, but the rally by thousands of members of various Muslim organizations in Jakarta raised tension among the public. Many of the rally participants were armed with swords, machetes and daggers, and they blocked off access to the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta.

After a brief meeting with the President, which the representatives of the Muslim groups said was unsatisfactory, the rally participants vowed to travel to the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku, which have been wracked by sectarian clashes, and stage a jihad.

"Just because he is the President, he cannot make any remark he wishes," one of the rally leaders, Jaffar Umar Tholib, told the crowd after the meeting.

The rally participants, mainly from the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Communication Forum, initially gathered at Senayan stadium, about six kilometers to the south of the Presidential Palace, to celebrate the Islamic New Year.

After traveling from the stadium, the protesters encircled the Presidential Palace complex, leaving the some 500 security personnel helpless.

According to the protesters, Abdurrahman recently called Muslims in Maluku "golden boys", while in fact the Muslim community in the province has been the victim of acts of violence.

The President said during a meeting at the palace last Tuesday that the conflict in Maluku was basically due to the unfair treatment the Christian community in Maluku suffered under former president Soeharto's administration.

"Over the past 10 years, the government gave special treatment to Muslims in Maluku, like golden boys," Abdurrahman said.

Eight of the protesters were allowed to meet with the President. A few minutes later they emerged from the palace, saying the President had become angry with them.

"He was angry. How can you talk to an angry man," said Ayib Syafruddin Rahmat, chief of the Jihad Soldiers from Solo, Central Java.

Acting State Secretary Bondan Gunawan told reporters the meeting lasted only five minutes because the President had to rest and was to receive acupuncture treatment later in the afternoon.

Bondan admitted Abdurrahman became upset after one of the protesters accused the President of acting however he wished.

He also said the representatives questioned Abdurrahman about his plan to lift the ban on communism, and that the President explained that "he's only responsible to the People's Consultative Assembly, not individuals".

Dissatisfied with the meeting with Abdurrahman, Jaffar called on the crowd to wage a jihad.

"Jihad is the final effort for Muslims to stop the Christians' rebellion in Maluku," he said, inviting those in attendance to take part in military training in Bogor.

Protests also hit Bandung and the West Sumatra capital of Padang.

Around 1,000 students from the Persatuan Islam Islamic Boarding School marched through the West Java capital of Bandung to protest the President's plan to lift the ban on communism.

Quoting Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, the spokesman for the protesters, H. Atip Latiful Hayat, said communism would not be vanquished if the ban was lifted. "Communism will survive and blossom if given the opportunity."

In Padang, hundreds of student from the state-owned Islamic Teaching Institute Imam Bonjol gathered to protest the proposed lifting of the ban on communism.

"Gus Dur is becoming insensitive to what's happening in society," one of the students, Alwi, said, referring to the President by his nickname.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, the chairman of the Crescent Party (PBB), Yusril Ihza Mahendra, reiterated his opposition to Abdurrahman's plan to lift the ban on communism, saying the move would be unwise during the country's economic misery.

"The ban could probably be withdrawn after the people become more prosperous. Now is the government's chance to inspire peace among the people and encourage people to enforce the law and repair our economy," said Yusril, who is also the minister of law and legislation.

"Now our people are socially fragile. They are easily provoked. In such a situation, communism could become a serious threat," he said.

Amien Rais, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, expressed his opposition to the President's proposal. Briefing reporters in Yogyakarta on Thursday, Amien said he was certain the Assembly's annual session next August would not support the President's proposal to lift the ban on communism.

However, Said Aqiel Siradj, a member of the central executive board of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the nation's largest Muslim organization, said he supported the President's proposal.

"There will be no consequences for the country if the decree is lifted," said Aqiel Siradj, a former aide to President Abdurrahman, who is a former chairman of NU. (06/25/28/44/sur)