Gus Dur, Abu Hasan advised to make peace

Gus Dur, Abu Hasan advised to make peace

SEMARANG (JP): Prominent Moslem leaders yesterday renewed
their call for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid
and his arch political foe Abu Hasan to make peace.

Cholil Bisri and Emha Ainun Nadjib said that like all other
Moslems across Indonesia, Abdurrahman (known as Gus Dur) and Abu
should have forgiven each other after the end of the Ramadhan
fasting month.

"Gus Dur and Abu Hasan should apologize to all Indonesian
Moslems because their enmity has caused unrest among the Moslem
community," Cholil told The Jakarta Post.

Abu has been contesting the NU leadership since the
organization's congress in Cipasung, West Java, in December 1994.
He lost the election to the incumbent Abdurrahman.

After he was left out of the new NU executive board, he
launched a campaign to unseat Abdurrahman from the NU leadership
board.

First, he accused Abdurrahman of cheating in the election.
Then, he threatened to take his rival to court for suggesting
that he had accepted kickbacks. The threat was never carried out.

Their enmity heightened further when Abu Hassan organized a
congress of his own and got himself appointed as an alternative
NU chairman. Although he reportedly had the support of some
government officials, his claim to the NU leadership was never
recognized.

Cholil, leader of a prestigious Islamic boarding school in the
Central Java town of Rembang, said the 30 million NU members
across Indonesia are tired of the prolonged leadership conflict.

"All efforts to bring Gus Dur and Abu Hasan together have
ended in failure," he said.

Emha Ainun Nadjib, also well-known as a political observer,
reminded Abdurrahman and Abu that it is high time NU members
focused on strengthening their Moslem solidarity.

"Indonesian Moslems, especially NU members, should stop their
conflict," he said.

Instead Indonesian Moslems must fight for common objectives,
including greater democracy. "To face the common challenges, the
NU should not disintegrate. NU leaders should use their time and
energy to prepare concrete programs to help members," Emha said

Amien Rais, who heads Muhammadiyah, another influential Moslem
organization, said he opposed any idea to involve a third party
as mediator in the NU internal rift saga.

He said he believed the NU senior leaders have the capability
to resolve their own problem. "The presence of a third party,
including the government, is unnecessary."

As chairman of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization,
Abdurrahman Wahid has been courted by political parties ahead of
next year's House of Representatives election.

He is known to have a close relation with the chief of the
Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri although he is
known to have maintained his Golkar membership.

He once served as a member of the People's Consultative
Assembly representing Golkar.

Moestahid Astari, Golkar's deputy secretary, said yesterday he
was optimistic Abdurrahman was still loyal to Golkar.

"Gus Dur has not rescinded his Golkar membership, so I believe
he is still a Golkar man. There is no problem," Moestahid told
journalists.

He said Golkar has nothing to worry about over Abdurrahman's
close relations with Megawati. (har/pan)