Gus Dur told to control his supporters

Gus Dur told to control his supporters

JAKARTA (JP): Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid asked President
Abdurrahman Wahid on Tuesday to warn his ready-to-die supporters
grouped under the "Defenders of Truth" force not to make any
anarchic moves during a planned mass prayer of the Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU) Muslim organization on April 29.

"Gus Dur must adopt a convincing communication style, as
founding president Bung Karno had in the past.

"He should be able, through his strong language and signals,
to persuade his supporters that (their commitment to die for him)
is wrong and prohibited," he told reporters, after addressing a
discussion on Harmony between Ethnic Groups and Religions at the
Wisma Antara building here.

He said Abdurrahman should treat as a priority the resolution
of state problems.

"His attention to state problems is less than optimal. If
anything, it has been ineffective," he said.

Separately, in an apparent move to lend support to President
Abdurrahman Wahid's opposition movement, Ikhwanul Muslimin chief
Habib Husein Al-Habsy called on all Muslims to overthrow
President Abdurrahman's administration that "is vice-ridden and
evil."

The Muslim cleric condemned the mass deployment of
Abdurrahman's fanatic followers to the capital ahead of April 30,
when the House of Representatives looked set to issue the second
memorandum of censure of the President, that could lead to his
impeachment.

Al-Habsy threatened that his organization would deploy some
150,000 of its followers to fight against Abdurrahman's fanatic
supporters.

"I therefore declare that every Muslim who dies in the cause
of ousting Gus Dur dies for defending the Islamic way," Husein
said as quoted by Antara news agency on Tuesday.

Ikhwanul Muslimin's secretary-general Moh. Hadrawi Ilham said
the Ikhwanul Muslimin squads are now prepared in Jakarta, West
Java, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Maluku,
South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi and "are ready to be
deployed anytime".

Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi
said on Tuesday that National Police would prepare nearly 40,000
officers for the mass gathering on April 29.

"We will have our negotiators on the capital's streets to deal
with mass demonstrations. The National Police will take all
necessary action, including the strictest measures, to ensure the
security of the general public in the capital," Didi told
reporters at the National Police Headquarters on Tuesday.

He added that NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi had given his word
that participants of the mass prayers would not carry any weapons
with them.

"If any NU member is found carrying a weapon, we will demand
accountability from the organizers of the mass prayers," he said.

Didi added that National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro
had instructed police chiefs nationwide to disband any kind of
pro-Gus Dur groups conducting paramilitary training activities.

"The instructions include whatever action is necessary against
these groups, should they insist on continuing the paramilitary
training," he said.

"Such training does not only worry local residents living in
the areas where the training is being conducted. It is also a
worrisome factor for the nation's people as a whole."

Meanwhile, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo
said his troops would prevent people with weapons from entering
the capital.

"Anyone is allowed to enter the capital, but again, this is
our capital city. We must ensure its security. We will not
tolerate anybody bringing a sword, a sickle or any other sharp
weapon into the city," Bibit told reporters after opening a
military training exercise for 586 military officers at the
Cibungbulang field in Bogor on Tuesday.

"Why bring sharp weapons anyway, unless there is an intention
to harm someone physically. In this matter, my men will provide
full back-up to police officers."

In Purwokerto, Central Java, political observer Eko Budiharjo
said on Tuesday that political activities that endorsed mass
movements, like the "Defenders of Truth" force, would end up
killing the growth of democracy in the country.

Eko, who is chairman of the Rectors' Forum, said the public
was clearly fed up with such mass movements.

"That feeling of frustration and being fed up, should not be
fueled. By persuading people from the grassroots level in the
mass movements... to take part in such activities, it will cause
friction among grassroots level people," Eko told The Jakarta
Post.

He added that conflicts at the level of the political elite
should not call for the involvement of religious organizations to
back the selfish aspirations of politicians.

In a related development, the Yogyakarta chapter of NU will
send some 5,000 of its members to attend the mass prayer in
Jakarta on April 29.

Nuruddin Amin, chairman of the Yogyakarta chapter of Ansor,
NU's youth wing, told journalists here on Tuesday that NU members
will leave Yogyakarta for the capital on April 28 by bus and
train.

"We will hire 60 buses and charter trains to transport the NU
members," he said. (21/23/45/EDT/YLT)