Gus Dur's re-election causes internal rifts

Gus Dur's re-election causes internal rifts

JAKARTA (JP): Abdurrahman Wahid spent the weekend being
congratulated for his reelection to Nahdlatul Ulama by groups of
government critics. But inside the organization, reports of
dissension grew.

The Forum for Democracy, a loose group of intellectuals, held
a thanksgiving celebration for Abdurrahman on Friday at
Casablanca a posh restaurant in Jakarta.

Prominent human rights activists such as Adnan Buyung Nasution
attended the celebration for Abdurrahman's reelection as chairman
of NU's Tanfidzyah (executive board) and his appointment as a
president of the New York-based World Conference on Religion and
Peace (WCRP).

Another celebration was held on Saturday by businessman
Setiawan Djodi and was attended by government critics Ali
Sadikin. Abdurrahman's seniors K.H. Ilyas Ruhiat and K.H. Sahal
Mahfudz, who are new chairman and deputy chairman of NU law-
making body (Syuriyah), were absent from the festivities.

Meanwhile, supporters from the camp of Abu Hasan, a defeated
competitor of Abdurrahman during the recent NU elections,
reportedly moved fast in their campaign to rock Abdurrahman's
leadership.

In addition to their plans to file a lawsuit against
Abdurrahman and establish a rival board, Abu Hasan's supporters
also lodged a formal protest with the government.

They told the Ministry of Home Affairs that 121 chapters and
21 provincial chapters, of over 300 chapters, of NU did not
recognize Abdurrahman's leadership.

News about the euphoria in Abdurrahman's parties have enraged
some NU followers. The daily Republika reported yesterday that
some NU leaders in Yogyakarta planned to hold an istighatsah, a
special prayer usually performed during time of crisis.

Sofwan Helmy from Yogyakarta lashed out at the chairman for
engaging in merriment at a time when the organization is beset by
troubles. "There shouldn't have been any parties ... NU is in
critical condition," Sofwan was quoted as saying.

Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, beat Abu Hasan by a
slim margin in elections which were marked by intervention from
various parties. With the mandate from the congress, Abdurrahman
then excluded Abu Hasan from the board of executives, reportedly
due to Abu's unclean business practices.

Abu Hasan retaliated by threatening to sue Abdurrahman for
slander. The next assault came from Fahmi Saifuddin and Saleh
Busthomi who tendered their resignations from the executive board
last week citing disappointment over the elections and the
procedures for the establishment of the board.

Political analyst Dr. Afan Gaffar of the University of Gadjah
Mada in Yogyakarta agreed that Abdurrahman may have his hands
full with more troubles than he can cope with now.

"I believe Fahmi's resignation is the biggest blow, even
compared to Abu Hasan's lawsuit," he told The Jakarta Post
yesterday. "Fahmi represents the mainstream of NU members .. his
leaving the board is really going to hurt Abdurrahman."

Afan, however, believed that Abdurrahman should wait until the
tension subsides before taking any action.

"He'd better not do anything right now," he said. "He can't
force reconciliation to take place just like that."

Later, he suggested, Abdurrahman should try to win his
supporters' hearts back by personally visiting every NU chapter
to explain his decisions and clarify the board's future plans.
(swe)