Gus Dur sets three issues for 'summit'

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has proposed that the planned meeting between the country's top leaders include discussions on security, law enforcement and the economic crisis, a right activist said on Monday.

Secretary-General of the Center for Democracy, Human Rights and Environment Studies Abdy Kusumanegara said Abdurrahman had come up with the list during the group's meeting with the President at Bina Graha presidential office on Monday morning.

Abdurrahman said earlier this month he hoped to meet with his deputy Megawati Soekarnoputri, Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais, and House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung to seek ways to resolve the country's political impasse.

The President said last week that "in principal" the four leaders had agreed to meet, but "no date has been set yet as everyone is busy".

Many have been skeptical of the significance of such a meeting as Abdurrahman has so far not come up with a precise agenda.

"The agenda is not clear. There have been meetings before but no follow-ups," former justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on Monday.

Yusril's statement came against the backdrop of a fresh proposal from Akbar that there should be "a preliminary talk" to set agendas for the "summit meeting".

"We should have a brainstorming session and see from there which topics could be discussed at the follow-up meeting," Akbar said later on Monday.

He also said that there should be "no time restriction" allotted for the dialog so that "we can discuss all the problems facing the country".

Akbar proposed earlier that the planned meeting be focused on a power-sharing scheme, through which Abdurrahman takes a backseat and hands over the day-to-day running of the government to Megawati. Akbar also said there was a possibility of the House dropping its plan to hand down the President a second rebuke in a session scheduled for the end of this month if the four-party meeting agreed on a power-sharing formula.

The President, however, rejected the proposal saying that the move was unconstitutional.

Demands for Abdurrahman's resignation have been rife due to his erratic style of leadership and ineffective government.

In Denpasar, Bali, MPR Speaker Amien, who also chairs the National Mandate Party, said the meeting between the country's four leaders should result in an agreement on an MPR special session to seek a solution to the crises facing the nation.

"If all the nation's leaders agree to the special session, God willing, there will be no obstacles standing in the path of the country's democratization process," Amien said in his opening speech of PAN's three-day executive meeting.

He said he supported the proposed dialog "as long as it doesn't damage the ongoing constitutional process at the DPR and MPR".

Indicating that the planned forum was prone to backroom deals, he said that through the MPR session a collective solution to the country's problems could be sought.

Attending the opening ceremony were representatives of eight factions from the House, who earlier in the day met for informal talks to discuss several national issues and ways to solve the country's multifaceted crisis.

Party representatives included Hatta Rajasa and Alvin Lie of the Reform faction, Syamsul Mu'arif of the Golkar Party, Arifin Panigoro of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Ali Marwan Hanan of the United Development Party, Ahmad Sumargono of the Crescent Star Party, Sutradara Gintings from the Unity and Nationhood faction and Mudahan Hasbi of the Daulat Ummat Party. Also attending was the deputy secretary-general of Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party, Suseno Yusuf.

Asked whether the meeting discussed the possibility of granting a second memorandum to President Abdurrahman Wahid, Alvin said that "the memorandum issue is a small issue compared to the threat of national disintegration and the current domestic economic crisis."

"On the matter concerning the second memorandum, I think each faction has a clear view on that and so need not be discussed," Alvin added. (byg/hdn/dja/edt/zen)