Muslim group denies supporting Habibie

JAKARTA (JP): A spokesman for the Front for the Defense of Islam (FPI) denied on Monday that the group supported B.J. Habibie for the presidency, which was reported by state-run television station TVRI on Sunday.

FPI demanded that TVRI issue a retraction on its 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. news broadcasts on Monday, Mizbah Anam told The Jakarta Post.

He said the station mistakenly considered the rally a show of support for Habibie's renomination.

"We never supported Habibie for president, we do not have any political motivation for yesterday's rally," Mizbah said in a telephone interview.

He attributed the misunderstanding to the participation of the Ka'bah Youth Movement (GPK), whose members latched onto the rally and shouted support for Habibie.

FPI will support whoever becomes the country's next president as long as the person is elected constitutionally, Mizbah said. The front is threatening to file suit against GPK and will send a protest letter to its founder, the Muslim-based United Development Party.

Thousands of FPI members rallied peacefully along the main streets of Jakarta, celebrating the organization's first anniversary along with the commemoration of the country's Independence Day anniversary.

About 300 members of the front staged a protest in front of the station in South Jakarta on Monday morning before moving to GPK headquarters in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, to question it regarding its involvement in the rally.

Mizbah said his organization's members were upset by the actions of the GPK. (04)