Influential ulemas oppose planned ties with Israel

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) ulemas at the Langitan Forum urged President Abdurrahman Wahid on Saturday to cancel his plan to establish trade relations with Israel.

During their seventh gathering at Langitan Islamic Boarding School in Tuban, East Java, they decided to dispatch Abdullah Faqih and Sahal Mahfud to meet Abdurrahman personally to ask him to drop his plan to establish trade ties with Israel.

They said that Abdurrahman should cancel the plan because it had caused rifts in society.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian Muslim Students Front (KAMMI) staged a massive protest rally on Sunday against the plan.

"We demand the government not to open any ties with Israel because there are no benefits in it, both economically and politically," said one of KAMMI's executives Fitra Asril, adding that the government would only hurt Muslim feelings if it goes ahead with the plan.

Opening any ties with Israel would mean a betrayal of the fight of our Palestinian brothers, said Fitra. "Cooperation with Israel means a betrayal of human values," he said.

The students gathered in the Al Azhar Grand Mosque in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, before marching to the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Central Jakarta. About 40,000 students joined the 10-kilometer march.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, who declared his intention to open trade relations with Israel as soon as he was elected president, has been opposed by Indonesia's Muslim community because Israel is still occupying parts of Palestine.

"We hope Gus Dur first consults the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House of Representative (DPR) to discuss certain important issues," Sahal from the NU was quoted by Antara as saying.

Sahal stressed that the wrong decision made by President Abdurrahman Wahid would directly affect NU and the people of Indonesia.

The regular forum in Langitan was attended by five of the nine key NU members from Central and East Java, including the acting- host Abdullah Faqih, Sahal from Pati in Central Java, Aziz Masyhuri from Jombang in East Java, Imron Hamzah from Surabaya in East Java and M. Ali Haidar.

Langitan ulemas were among those who supported Abdurrahman's nomination for president. Their opinions are highly regarded by Abdurrahman. Faqih, chairman of the Langitan Islamic boarding school, is a Muslim leader whom Abdurrahman regards as his guru.

Besides President Abdurrahman's plan to establish trade ties with Israel, the ulemas also urged President Abdurrahman to deal carefully with developments in Aceh and Ambon, and to reconsider his decision to ask former Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew to act as his economic advisor.

Meanwhile, political observer Emha Ainun Nadjib said on Saturday President Abdurrahman's plan to open trade ties with Israel would polarize the Indonesian people and disappoint his supporters.

Considering the strong reaction from the people to his plan, Abdurrahman should reconsider his plan before it creates new problems, he told Antara after a meeting in Bandarlampung, Lampung.

"I hope he was considering the plan simply as an option and he will listen to the people's aspirations," he said, adding that other Muslim countries had no ties with Israel.

Emha, who is also known as Cak Nun, admitted that trade relations were different from diplomatic ties. However, he warned that opening relations would bring more harm than good.

"He would be better off establishing trade ties with other countries that offer more advantages and opportunities to Indonesia," he said.

Cak Nun doubted that Abdurrahman would go ahead with his plan considering the strong public opposition. "I promised I would try to convince him about this matter. But I can't guarantee it because I am just an outside player," he added.

Security officers in Jakarta rejected the Muslim students' request to stage the protest in front of the State Palace.

Most of the male students wore colorful university jackets, while the female students wore headscarves. The students kept marching under heavy rainfall during the rally.

"If Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, opens trade ties with Israel, it means it acknowledges the existence of Israel," said the students in a statement.

They also warned that opening commercial and trade ties would jeopardize Indonesia's relations with other Muslim countries.

The students urged Muslim-based parties to withdraw their members from the Cabinet should the government push ahead with its plan to open trade ties with Israel.

Indonesian-Israeli trade ties don't only concern the matter of trade, but also the life and death of a nation, the statement said. (02/05)