Gus Dur plans to meet with Soeharto again
Gus Dur plans to meet with Soeharto again
JAKARTA (JP): Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid revealed on
Monday his plan to again meet with former president Soeharto to
discuss current developments affecting the country.
In a meeting with his one-time political foe Eggy Sudjana, who
chairs the Muslim Workers Solidarity Union, at his residence in
Ciganjur, South Jakarta, Abdurrahman also said he wanted to meet
later with President B.J. Habibie.
"I will do so soon... as the political situation keeps on
changing," he told reporters after the meeting.
If Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, met Soeharto, it
would be his third meeting in three months. The chairman of the
30 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) first met with Soeharto at
the latter's residence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta on Dec. 19
last year to push forward his campaign for national
reconciliation.
The second time was on Jan. 26 this year when Abdurrahman
again visited Soeharto at Cendana for a belated Idul Fitri get-
together.
At that time, Abdurrahman said he had also conveyed to
Soeharto a special message from Minister of Defense/Armed Forces
Commander Gen. Wiranto requesting the former president to use his
power to stop the unrest created by his followers.
"I am also looking forward to meeting Habibie as I have to
submit to him the Open House results," he added, referring to the
two-week session at his residence during the fasting month of
Ramadhan.
Abdurrahman on Monday called for a united campaign for a fair
and open election given the plentiful possibilities of unrest
which he said could be engineered by parties who opposed the
results of the Special Session of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) to be continued.
"The three biggest political elements here have vowed to
support the June election: the bureaucracy and military,
political parties and mass organizations.
"But it is likely that riots and unrest in general would
continue as there are groups... opponents who will continue
their agenda," Abdurrahman noted.
During the session, Eggy asked Abdurrahman why the latter
tended to side with the non-Muslim minorities.
"It's not like that," Abdurrahman said, "You have to remember
that the minorities here, either in religion or ethnic matters,
are the ones who suffered from oppression."
"It is our duty as Muslims to protect them and minimize their
pain," Abdurrahman reiterated.
The solidarity union and Nahdlatul Ulama were expected to
cooperate in certain grassroots projects, as the first
organization is said to have 600,000 skilled members who would be
able to help NU activists. (edt)