Humanika vows to start lawsuit against Gus Dur

Humanika vows to start lawsuit against Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): The Humanika Foundation's chairman, Andrianto, said yesterday the foundation, a student discussion group, would proceed with its libel suit against Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization.

Andrianto told reporters here yesterday, after police had questioned him on the planned lawsuit, that the foundation was ready to challenge Abdurrahman in court.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, has publicly accused the foundation of masterminding the Dec. 26 riot in Tasikmalaya, West Java, in which four people died and scores of buildings and public facilities were damaged.

"That's a serious accusation. We feel as if Gus Dur has abused us with his slander," said Andrianto, a final-year student at a private university in Jakarta. He attended the Jakarta police station as a representative of the plaintiff.

Anyone found guilty of slander can be sent to prison for up to four years.

Andrianto demanded that Abdurrahman disclose all his evidence supporting his accusation against Humanika.

"Gus Dur said he has evidence in the form of diskettes, documents and recorded statements. We want him to present it all before the court," he said.

At a seminar on Jan. 28, Abdurrahman said the foundation had given money to NU youths to establish Humanika branches in several cities. He said the foundation had encouraged the youths to plan and stir up unrest including the riot in Tasikmalaya.

The Tasikmalaya riot began after police tortured a local Moslem teacher and two students. Thousands of people rampaged, attacking churches and scores of factories and shops.

Abdurrahman identified Mimih Haeruman and Galih F. Qurbany as NU youths who were "tricked" by Humanika activists into getting involved in the riot and, therefore, creating an image that the NU was behind the unrest. Mimih and Galih were both members of Indonesian Moslem Students Movement -- an affiliate of NU.

Mimih and Humanika activist Agustiana have been charged by the police as the "intellectual actors" behind the riot. Agustiana is in police custody. Galih has not been charged.

Andrianto denied his foundation had anything to do with the riot.

"The Garut branch stated that its members were not involved in the riot. There is no possibility that our organization would get involved in violence like the Tasikmalaya riot," he said. "We are an organization that respects dialog."

Humanika mostly holds seminars on national social and political issues. Most of its members are university students.

It does not have a specific criteria for enrolling new members.

"Anybody could join in our discussions. We can't do anything if a participant in a discussion claims he's our member. However, the real members of the organization are those who initiate the discussions," said Andrianto, who has been chairman of the foundation since February 1996.

He said the activists had tried unsuccessfully to contact Abdurrahman for an explanation. "Gus Dur is a busy man, a meeting between us never occurred," he said. "We lost patience when he made the allegation in public."

Martinus Amin, an activist of the Humanika branch in Yogyakarta, told the reporters the foundation wanted Abdurrahman to initiate a truce. "If we try to do it, our name will really be tarnished."

Separately, Jakarta Police Detectives Chief Col. Paimin A.B. said Abdurrahman Wahid would soon be questioned. (35)