ICMI and 1966 activists against national dialog

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) and activists of the 1966 generation on Wednesday joined hands in opposing a proposed national dialog for reconciliation.

ICMI executive chairman Achmad Tirtosudiro, executive chairman of the Arief Rahman Hakim Big Family of 1966 student activists Arief Biki, and former student leader Bambang W. Soeharto challenged the credibility of the planned dialog initiated by Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid.

"The planned national dialog, which will involve only four national figures does not represent the whole nation," Achmad said in a media conference, evaluating the latest development in the country's political affairs.

The four that he mentioned were President B.J. Habibie, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto, former president Soeharto and Abdurrahman himself, who chairs the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim organization.

Achmad, who is also deputy chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, said the four were not equal in rank or position.

"Pak Habibie is the president, while Wiranto is one of his aides. They are not equal," he said.

"Even more odd is that the dialog will involve former president Soeharto, who is considered equal to Habibie just because he still has a lot of supporters and is financially strong," he added.

Achmad said the dialog would only put Habibie in a dilemma.

"If he (Habibie) accepts the proposal, he'll still be considered under the influence of Soeharto's New Order regime," he said. "If he refuses, he'll be accused of being undemocratic."

He hailed Habibie's refusal to attend the planned meeting.

Abdurrahman, however, insisted Habibie did not reject a meeting with Soeharto. He said on Sunday that Habibie only wanted to meet Soeharto as an individual.

Abdurrahman said after meeting Soeharto on Saturday that the former president, Habibie, Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto and himself should meet for a dialog in the drive toward fostering national reconciliation.

Abdurrahman's critics have expressed fears his move may divert the focus away from legal proceedings against Soeharto, and some have accused him of harboring political ambitions.

Achmad charged that Abdurrahman, fondly known as Gus Dur, had a political motive behind his maneuvers.

"Gus Dur has a big name. And he uses his position for his political purposes," he said.

Similarly, Arief Biki charged both Abdurrahman and Wiranto with harboring political interests with their maneuvers.

"Should Gus Dur and Wiranto forward their political interests in pursuit of the presidency, we'll not hesitate mobilizing the students to continue with peaceful reform actions," he said in a press statement, copies of which were made available to the press on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Bambang echoed Achmad's statement that the four figures would not represent the whole nation.

"This country is too big for every decision to be taken by two or three persons only," he said.

Meanwhile, in Semarang, Central Java, two observers praised Abdurrahman's move as "brilliant" and said it was meant only to save the country from destruction. Sutoyo Abadi of the Diponegoro University and Cahyo Kumolo of Golkar both agreed that despite criticism, the planned meeting should go ahead. (imn/har)