Hamzah's visit to Ja'far not wise

Hamzah's visit to Ja'far not wise

Vice President Hamzah Haz's visit to the commander of the
Laskar Jihad Muslim group, Ja'far Umar Thalib, who is at present
in police custody, has attracted a lot of attention, especially
from politicians. Why did Hamzah do this? He said that he visited
Ja'far not in his capacity as Vice President, but as a fellow
Muslim. But you cannot ignore the fact that he is the Vice
President of the Republic of Indonesia, and that should be always
in his mind.

In fact, he made this visit because he feared the influence of
an earlier visit made by his archrival Zainuddin MZ to Ja'far,
which could harm his chances in the next presidential election.
Hamzah's explanation that his 90-minute visit was purely
friendly, and should be interpreted as a visit from one Muslim to
another Muslim who is in trouble, is unacceptable.

And why was Hamzah Haz (not the Vice President) received by
the National Police chief after arriving accompanied by his
official security detail, although he did not use his official
car. He was also accompanied by members of the vice presidential
staff, like Laode Kamaluddin and Djalil, and his group also
included Eggy, a senior adviser to the United Development Party
(PPP) who is currently the chairman of PPMI -- a labor
organization affiliated with PPP.

If he considers this visit as a duty between Muslims, why did
he not visit Akbar Tanjung in detention. Akbar is a fellow Muslim
and also occupies the high position of Speaker of the House of
Representatives and chairman of Golkar Party?

Both Akbar and the Speaker of the People's Consultative
Assembly, Amien Rais, consider Hamzah's visit an intervention in
law enforcement that can create problems in the legal process
against Ja'far Umar Thalib.

Suddenly another question pops up in my mind. I have never
heard Ja'far and his Laskar Jihad condemning the separatist Free
Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been in existence since 1976. If
Ja'far is a pure red-and-white leader then he should condemn
openly any separatist movement and express his loyalty to the
Unitary Republic of Indonesia, proclaimed on Aug. 17, 1945.

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