Gus Dur supporters in town to pray for peace: Hasyim

JAKARTA (JP): With an estimated 15,000 supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid having already arrived in the capital, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leaders tried to defuse fears of unrest following their planned mass prayer meeting on Sunday.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi said on Tuesday that the Muslim organization's followers would pray for peace and urge the country's leaders to seek a solution to the prolonged bickering that has put the nation's survival at stake.

"The mass prayer has nothing to do with the movements in favor of or against Gus Dur. It's intended solely for the sake of the country," said Hasyim, referring to the President by his nickname.

Hasyim, who was speaking at an editors' club meeting here, said that the mass gathering had long been planned, and it was just a coincidence that it was to take place on the eve of the House of Representatives session to decide whether a second rebuke would be issued against the President.

"We initially planned the mass prayer for Feb. 18, but since most of the senior clerics (kyais) were abroad, we rescheduled the event for April 29.

"Had the House stuck to its original legislative calendar, the mass prayer would not be taking place so close to the plenary session," Hasyim said.

The House cut short its recess by two weeks to facilitate the holding of the plenary session on the grounds that its first memorandum of censure against the President would expire on May 1.

Fears of violence have been growing as thousands of so-called death squad members (volunteers sworn to defend the President to the end) will be among those flooding the capital in support of the beleaguered President should the House hand down a second censure.

Earlier in the day, Hasyim said he guaranteed that all the participants in the mass prayer meeting from outside Jakarta would leave the capital as soon as the event, to be held at Gelora Bung Karno sports complex, concluded.

But he was quick to add that the NU would not shoulder the responsibility for any disturbances arising from the actions of "outside provocateurs" who had infiltrated the crowd.

"In any case, the NU is fully cooperating with the National Police to make sure that the representatives of every NU office nationwide arriving for the prayers and their vehicles will be checked and documented," Hasyim said at a meeting with Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman.

Mulyono said he had obtained assurances from the commander of the "dead squad", Nuril Arifin, that the paramilitary volunteers would return to their respective hometowns immediately after the mass prayer.

"This is the understanding I have with Nuril Arifin. His volunteers will return to their bases after the prayers, which will end at around 1 p.m. They will not stay on here to stage any kind of protest on April 30," Mulyono said.

"Of course, there is no guarantee. But this is a good start. Nuril has also promised that none of his volunteers will carry firearms or cause disturbances."

But Nuril told a different story. He said some 350,000 of his volunteers, some of whom have reportedly undergone rigorous training in East Java forests, would stay in the capital indefinitely.

"As of today, there are 15,000 volunteers already in town. Their stay here will depend on the money I have and how long they can hold out if we run short of food," he said.

He admitted that the volunteers would "try to go to the House" during the plenary session.

"It couldn't be classed as an encirclement. We will enter onto the House grounds only if we are permitted to do so. But, if we are barred we will protest outside the compound," he said.

Separately, the Lasykar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamma'ah Muslim group declared on Tuesday it would send some 1,500 personnel, fresh from its mission in Maluku, to Jakarta to help the security forces maintain order.

"Our members will be deployed in a number of areas around the MPR/DPR complex in Central Jakarta, just in case any disturbances break out," the group's leader, Ja'far Umar Thalib, told reporters on Tuesday at his office on Jl. Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. (44/ylt/dja)