Masyumi rehabilitation sought

JAKARTA (JP): The Islamic Propagation Council in a meeting with President B.J. Habibie yesterday called on the government to restore the name of Masyumi, a dominant political party which was forced to disband by first president Sukarno in 1960.

In a statement outlining the results of the meeting, the council said Habibie's restoring of Masyumi's name was much hoped for so that he did not add to the list of injustices against the party.

"As the formal inheritors of the Masyumi Party, we ask the president to rehabilitate the good name of Masyumi, as a party which contributed much to the development of the democratic culture in Indonesia," said the council.

"History proves that the disbanding of Masyumi was a result of a conspiracy by forces pro-PKI (the Indonesia Communist Party)... Efforts to restore Masyumi's name during the New Order government (under president Soeharto) also produced little," the council said.

Formed in 1943, the influential Islamic party was a force to be reckoned with during its time. In the 1955 general election, it gained 20.9 percent of the vote, second only after Sukarno's Indonesian Nationalist Party.

Continued feuding over Sukarno's style of leadership resulted in an ultimatum on Aug. 17, 1960, which forced the party to dissolve itself or be declared banned.

"So far there has been a tendency by some groups to create the 'ghost of Masyumi' as a threat to nation and state," the council said yesterday. (mds)