Gus Dur and Habibie urged to reconcile

Gus Dur and Habibie urged to reconcile

JAKARTA (JP): Emil Salim, a former cabinet minister well
respected for his statesmanship, has swung his weight behind
efforts to reconcile well-known Moslem leaders Abdurrahman Wahid
and B.J. Habibie.

Emil said Thursday good relations between Abdurrahman,
affectionately called Gus Dur, and Habibie will improve relations
between the two influential organizations the antagonists lead.

Gus Dur chairs the 30-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and
Habibie heads the politically well-connected Association of
Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) and is State Minister for
Research and Technology.

"Better relations between the two figures will undoubtedly
boost cooperation between the two organizations," said Emil, a
member of ICMI's Board of Advisors and former environment
minister.

He said cooperation between ICMI and NU would benefit not only
the Moslem community but also the Indonesian public in general.

Gus Dur and Habibie are known to have fundamental differences
of opinion about how Moslems, about 87 percent of Indonesia's 195
million people, should play a role in politics.

Gus Dur was quoted by Media Indonesia daily as saying Thursday
that he would meet Habibie only if he made a concession: making a
commitment that ICMI would bury its ambition to dominate
politics.

"On various occasions, ICMI leaders have made it clear that
they want to fly their Islamic banner in the political
bureaucracy and the armed forces," Gus Dur said. "I'm opposed to
it."

Gus Dur is an ardent critic of ICMI, which was established
with President Soeharto's blessing in the East Java city of
Malang in 1991.

The idea of bringing Gus Dur and Habibie together in a
reconciliation meeting came last week from Ilyas Ruchiyat,
chairman of NU's law-making body.

Emil said he does not believe the differences between
Habibie's and Gus Dur's views are that great. "I don't see any
serious conflict between Abdurrahman Wahid and Habibie," he said.

Calls for reconciliation have come from Moslem figures
following a rare meeting between President Soeharto and
Abdurrahman earlier this month.

The meeting ended speculations that the President did not
bless Gus Dur's leadership. Gus Dur is well-known for his
critical stand on some government policies.

Observers say proof of improving relations between government
officials and Abdurrahman, who leads the Forum Demokrasi group of
government critics, was evident from his meeting with Army Chief
of Staff Gen. R. Hartono a week later. (imn/pan)