Gus Dur cancels planned Aceh trip

JAKARTA (JP): Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid called off on Thursday his plan to visit troubled Aceh, saying citing an unfavorable mood among people in the province.

Abdurrahman, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim organization, said it would be impossible to talk to people who could not control their temper.

"The Aceh people are so emotional that it is not possible to...discuss a common platform for (their) future," he said, after addressing a seminar on the prospect of the Indonesian economy organized by the NU's Economic Institute (LPNU).

However, he said, he did not intend to give up efforts to seek a peaceful settlement in Aceh. "I'll go to Aceh if all the people there can act rationally," he said.

"In the meantime, I'll still meet with Aceh leaders to discuss the matter, the meeting sites of which you do not need to know," he told the media.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, announced last week he would leave on Friday for a two-day trip to Aceh to discuss possible solutions for Aceh's problems with leading figures.

After seeing President B.J. Habibie last Wednesday, he announced the situation was conducive for the trip as the Aceh people would welcome him. He was rejected by Aceh students when campaigning for the National Awakening Party (PKB) last May.

Though disappointed with the response from the people in Aceh, Abdurrahman considered a referendum a possible solution for the years of tension in the province.

"One of the methods to find out what the people of Aceh really want is through a referendum," he said, while adding that the referendum should be organized by Indonesia and did not necessarily need to involve the United Nations (UN).

He dismissed speculations that giving Aceh independence was the best way out of the problems, saying it was "a high-cost decision."

The media conference ended in a verbal battle as Abdurrahman ignored three Aceh women, who asked to meet him. "You are so emotional. I do not want to talk to you," Abdurrahman told them.

One of the women yelled it was useless to talk to Abdurrahman and said he would never be welcomed by the Acehnese.(imn)