Gus Dur supporters hold rallies in Wonosobo, Cirebon
JAKARTA (JP): Rallies both for and against Abdurrahman Wahid intensified on the eve of Monday's session of the People's Consultative Assembly to hear the President's accountability speech.
Hundreds of supporters of Abdurrahman staged a violent rally in the Central Java town of Wonosobo, burning tires along the town's main road on Sunday afternoon.
The people, from the Alliance of People's Care for Democracy, condemned the Assembly Special Session, saying it violated the Constitution.
The rally not only caused heavy traffic congestion, but spread panic among residents. Later in the day, shops and other businesses in the center of town were closed because of a fear of unrest.
Antara reported that the protesters, who came from various Islamic boarding schools in the regency, also marched through the town chanting slogans against Amien Rais and Akbar Tandjung, the Assembly speaker and the House of Representatives speaker, respectively.
The protesters also threatened to burn the office of the Golkar Party located on the main road connecting Wonosobo to the neighboring town of Banjarnegara.
In Cirebon, West Java, dozens of people staged a protest in front of state radio station Radio Republik Indonesia on Jl. Brigjen Darsono.
The protesters demanded the station allow them on the air to voice their opposition to the Assembly Special Session. They attempted to occupy the station, but were turned away by security personnel.
Meanwhile, some 500 people who described themselves as die- hard followers of President Abdurrahman Wahid left the East Java town of Pasuruan for Jakarta on Sunday, to show their support for the beleaguered leader.
Traveling in buses and private cars, the group is expected to arrive in Jakarta on early Monday. They are led by Gus Abik from the Raudlathul Ulum Islamic boarding school in Mbesuk, Pasuruan, news portal detikcom reported.
It was also reported that several officials of the Muhammadiyah Muslim organization had evacuated their families from the province in anticipation of violence in connection with the Assembly Special Session, which is almost certain to see the impeachment of Abdurrahman.
The secretary of Muhammadiyah's East Java chapter, M. Najib Hamid, said the evacuations had been conducted gradually and in secret over the past few days.
"We only evacuated several families just to anticipate the worst," Najib told The Jakarta Post.
He also disclosed that some Muhammadiyah officials had received threatening phone calls from anonymous callers.
Known as the stronghold of Abdurrahman, East Java was hit by unrest late in May after the House demanded the Assembly hold a special session to hear the President's account of two financial scandals.
In contrast, it was business as usual on Sunday in Bandung, the capital of West Java. There were the normal traffic jams on main roads such as Jl. Asia Afrika, Jl. Dago, Jl. Merdeka and Jl. Otto Iskandardinata, and the shopping malls were typically packed.
Security personnel, however, remained on alert, with half of the 16,500 personnel of the West Java Police prepared for deployment to at least 34 critical areas, said provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Sudirman Ali.
Separately in Makassar, South Sulawesi, some 50 students, representatives of the state-run universities in the province, staged a rally at the Panaikang Hero Cemetery to demand that Abdurrahman resign.
During the rally, the students buried a photograph of Abdurrahman, spread flowers on the "grave" and said prayers asking God to open Abdurrahman's heart so he would resign.(25/27/nur/emf)