Gus Dur heads home, plans white book

Gus Dur heads home, plans white book

JAKARTA (JP): Ousted president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
left Johns Hopkins Hospital on Wednesday, and is planning to set
up a foundation on democracy once he arrives home, according to a
news report.

Abdurrahman, who went to the hospital for a medical checkup,
is due to land at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
on Friday at 10:30 a.m. on Singapore Airlines SQ154 after transit
stops in London and Singapore, Antara reported.

His daughter, Zannuba "Yenni" Arifah Chafsoh Rahman, said that
her father aimed to "uphold democracy" and use the foundation as
a center for his struggle.

To realize his dream, he will cooperate with non-governmental
organizations and non-Muslim figures.

Abdurrahman also plans to launch a white book on his version
of his 18-month administration. The book will be prepared by a
team from the National Awakening Party (PKB), which he helped
found.

Abdurrahman's 14-strong entourage, including his wife Shinta
Nuriyah, left Dulles Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, United
States, on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. western
Indonesian time).

Yenny said that her father wanted to go straight to his
residence in Ciganjur but on his supporters' request he will
instead head for a mosque in Matraman, Central Jakarta for a mass
prayer.

"Then he and his supporters will parade to the nearby
Proklamasi monument on andong (horse-drawn carts) and becak
(pedicab)," Yenni said.

The Johns Hopkins Hospital has given Abdurrahman a clean bill
of health.

Nuriyah said that Abdurrahman was declared fit to carry out
his daily activities. "He is supposed to have his health checked
once a year," she said.

During his five-day stay in Baltimore Abdurrahman met with old
friend Paul Wolfowitz, a former U.S. ambassador to Jakarta and
now deputy secretary of defense.

He also gave interviews to Voice of America and the Washington
Post.