Gus Dur meets Amien Rais
JAKARTA (JP): A breakthrough for the much-awaited national dialog came on Thursday with a meeting between leading Muslim figures Abdurrahman Wahid and Amien Rais.
The closed-door meeting, held at the Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta, was arranged by New Society, a private group set up for the promotion of democracy and human rights led by businessman Setiawan Djodi.
Abdurrahman, who is chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization, and Amien, chairman of the National Mandate Party, concurred the national dialog was the key to solving the nation's problems.
"Both of us agreed that all citizens, no matter who they are, where they come from and what their beliefs are, should maintain national stability and prevent any unrest," Amien, a former chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, told a news conference.
"There should be no more tears and bloodshed."
Abdurrahman, known as Gus Dur, and Amien are among four signatories to the document known as the Ciganjur Declaration. The other signatories were Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of a faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic Party, and Yogyakarta monarch and governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Students forced them to meet at Abdurrahman's Ciganjur, South Jakarta, residence in November to help put back on track the wavering reform agenda.
"We are committed to responsibility to help create a great and glorious nation," Abdurrahman said at the news conference.
The men differed on details of the dialog, especially Abdurrahman's proposal to involve former president Soeharto.
"We cannot neglect Pak Harto's still strong influence in the country's political affairs," Abdurrahman said.
He said December riots with religious overtones in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, following unrest in Ketapang, West Jakarta, involved "dissatisfied supporters of Soeharto".
Fourteen people died in the Ketapang riot and 22 churches were burned and damaged.
Abdurrahman has repeatedly said Soeharto's many loyalists would be provoked if they considered their mentor was inhumanely treated. An investigation is underway into Soeharto's fortune although he has not been named as a suspect or witness.
Abdurrahman said he had nothing to gain or lose if Soeharto was left out of the dialog. "At least, there is a guarantee from Pak Harto that there will not be any violence and unrest if he is not included."
He wrote in Kompas daily on Thursday that Soeharto may no longer wish to be included because of the huge public outcry over the proposal.
Critics say the inclusion of nation's 32-year ruler would backtrack on the reform agenda. They also speculated that Abdurrahman, who met with Soeharto at the latter's residence in December, was seeking political gain through the overture.
Amien believed the possibility of Soeharto's inclusion should not be allowed to distract from the ongoing probe.
Abdurrahman proposed to Amien on Thursday that the four national figures he recommended to represent the country in the dialog -- President B.J. Habibie, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, Soeharto and himself -- sign an agreement in which Soeharto would guarantee no unrest in the future by his supporters.
Meanwhile, Amien insisted he should be included along with other leading figures if Soeharto was a participant.
"If the four figures sign the memorandum of understanding, there must be an Amien Rais to validate the agreement."
A Nahdlatul Ulama official said the two men's meeting would continue on Friday with the participation of scholar Nurcholish Madjid. (imn)