Moslem leaders united in communist fight

Moslem leaders united in communist fight

JAKARTA (JP): Moslem leaders are taking seriously President
Soeharto's warning that "formless" communist organizations are
out to poison the public.

Abdurrahman Wahid, who is chairman of the 30-million strong
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, said here Saturday that
his organization has flatly rejected rumors being spread to pit
social groups against each other.

"NU refuses all those rumors," he said in a ceremony to
inaugurate the newly-elected executive board of GP Ansor, the
youth wing of the NU. "I call on NU members not to be provoked by
those rumors."

"NU must always be aware of current conditions," said
Abdurrahman, who is more popularly known as Gus Dur. "People who
spread such rumors... are an example of the members of the
formless organizations that Pak Harto warned of."

Soeharto warned on Friday that the public, particularly
youths, must watch out for a "formless organization" has been
active in spreading communist teachings in Indonesia.

Soeharto said that the group preys on young people and
virtually conducts its activities "door to door". Another
characteristic of the organization is that it often exploits
human rights issues, justice and democracy in its preachings,
Soeharto said.

Soeharto's warning has been echoed by many officials and
national leaders. Army Chief Gen. R. Hartono told some 1,500
Moslem propagators in the Hidayatullah Moslem boarding school in
Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, that the nation, particularly
Moslems, has to be wary of a possible resurgence of communism.

Prominent Moslem scholar K.H. Noer Muhammad Iskandar,
principal of the Asshidiqiyah Moslem boarding school who hosted
the GP Ansor ceremony, said that Moslems must continue to monitor
the movements of the formless organization.

"It's possible that the once-jailed communist people are still
out for political revenge against the leadership of the New Order
administration," Noer said.

He called on all parties to close ranks. One of the surest
ways to contain the insidious campaign of communism, he said, is
to find prompt resolutions to protracted conflicts among
political groups.

Both the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party and the
Moslem-based United Development Party have been beset by various
internal problems, while the ruling Golkar has recently
experienced a hiccup in its relationship with its backbone
faction, the Armed Forces.

"Once the ranks loosen, the satan of the PKI will enter," he
said, referring to the now-banned Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI).

Senior ulema Ilyas Ruchiyat, who is also chairman of NU's law-
making body, supported President Soeharto. He also said that the
best way to curb the spread of communism is to improve the
people's welfare, spirituality, behavior and faith in God.

GP Ansor's new executive board is chaired by veterinarian M.
Iqbal Assegaf, who will be assisted by Secretary-General Amin
Said Husni and seven deputy chairmen.

Assegaf said that the organization once played an important
role in the fight against communism in the mid-1960s. The stance
of the organization now, he pointed out, was similar to that of
NU and the other Moslem leaders.

"We have forgiven what the PKI did to our parents and brothers
(in 1965), but we must never forget that their ideology could
penetrate in any situation, in any condition or form," Assegaf
said.

Along with the new executive board, GP Ansor's board of
patrons was also inaugurated.

Abdurrahman Wahid and Ilyas Ruchiyat were conspicuously absent
from the lineup of the board of patrons. Instead, it will be
manned by, among others, Chalid Mawardi and Slamet Effendy Yusuf,
both of whom are affiliated with Golkar. (swe)