Gus Dur vows to be tough on jihad issue in Maluku

JAKARTA (JP): Opposition to calls for a jihad in Maluku found support on Wednesday when President Abdurrahman Wahid vowed to take stern measures against those who answered the call.

Speaking during a meeting with leaders of the Assuryaniyah Attahiriyah Muslim foundation at Bina Graha presidential office, Abdurrahman described the calls as an attempt to disturb his government and force him to resign as the country's leader.

"I do not care whether they want a jihad or not, or anything else, but as soon as the safety of the state and people are endangered we will take action," the President said.

"I am being stabbed from behind," he said, expressing his disappointment with the mounting pressure his government has come under, which he said detracted from efforts to resolve the problems in Aceh.

Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, particularly pointed to the demonstration held on Sunday to demand a quick settlement to sectarian conflicts in Maluku.

Thousands of Muslims gathered near the National Monument to air their anger over the killing of Muslims and the destruction of mosques in Maluku. They pledged a jihad if the government failed to stop the violence immediately.

Speakers at the rally, including People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and United Development Party (PP) chairman Hamzah Haz, voiced their support for the demonstrators' demands. Amien said during the rally he had given the President a deadline of two weeks to resolve the conflict.

Amien and Hamzah, through the "axis force", played a major role in lifting Abdurrahman to the presidency last October.

Abdurrahman said the rally was attended by some 20,000 people, not the one million claimed by organizers.

"It was described as a gathering of a million ummat, but actually only 20,000 were present, so it is no doubt that they are just seeking to create problems," Abdurrahman said.

"The power is not in their hands. They are nothing. The real majority now is PDIP," the President said, comparing the political strength of rally organizers with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, which won the general election in June last year.

"They just wanted to show their strength to force me to resign from my position. There is no problem."

Separately, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) said it would never support a jihad in Maluku.

Acting MUI chairman Amidhan said after a plenary meeting on Tuesday that a holy war could backfire on the nation.

"MUI will never agree with the outcries for holy war and cannot see the use of such action," Amidhan said, adding that the council would propose a peaceful settlement to the violence in Maluku.

Amidhan said MUI would call on Muslims across the country to give moral support to their fellow Muslims in Maluku who fell prey to the violence.

Criticizing the President's statement that the people of Maluku should resolve their problems on their own, MUI urged the government to put an end to the year-long communal clashes.

Amidhan said 2,086 Muslims in Maluku had died since last year, but added that the council would check the data before officially announcing it to the public.

MUI has also been working with other religion organizations such the Indonesian Communion of Churches in an attempt to reach a reconciliation in Maluku.

Sociologist and Maluku native Tamrin Amal Tomagola said a jihad in Maluku was unnecessary because the conflict originated from a dispute among local political elites.

He suggested the government replace all top government officials in Maluku, including the governor and deputy governors, with people from outside the province.

A political observer at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Samsu Rizal Panggabean, said the calls for a jihad would only add to the strife in Maluku, and could possibly cause the violence to spread.

"I fear such a call will trigger further conflicts in other areas, such as cities in Java or in Jakarta," he said. "It's like pouring oil on a burning flame." (04/44/edt/prb/rms)