'Gus Dur may say no, but we are going anyway'

SURABAYA (JP): Preparations are almost complete for the thousands of members of Banser to throng to Jakarta in a show of support for President Abdurrahman Wahid.

In the town of Pasuruan, a Banser stronghold, activists have established a National Alert Command post. The post receives public complaints regarding various conflicts among the political elite.

The Banser members insist on coming to Jakarta even though President Wahid had several times called on them not to do so.

An official at the East Java branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama told The Jakarta Post: "Politics are never free from rhetorics. Of course the President should make such statements. But we need to see the facts out there."

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the political conflicts will worsen in days to come. He added that anti-Gus Dur campaigns are growing and had to be responded to.

"Many Banser members have actually been in Jakarta since the end of the Lebaran festivities (last December). They are ready to be mobilized anytime. It is true that some of them are here to secure an event held by PMII (another youth wing of NU) in Jakarta," he said.

President Wahid visited Surabaya last week where he received a declaration of support from the leaders of the pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) who had blessed his presidential candidacy in 1999. This Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001, Abdurrahman is again scheduled to visit East Java, this time, Probolinggo. (Ainur R. Sophiaan)