Muslim group raises ante in holy war plan

Muslim group raises ante in holy war plan

JAKARTA (JP): In spite of appeals and warnings, a Muslim
organization stepped up its pressure to send volunteers on a
jihad in strife-torn Maluku on Monday, calling for the removal of
President Abdurrahman Wahid from office.

Leaders of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum also threatened
to wage a holy war in Java if the authorities prevented their
volunteers from leaving for Maluku later this month.

Some 1,000 members of the group visited the House of
Representatives on Monday to make their point by words of mouth
as well as by a show of force.

They arrived in buses and trucks, wearing Muslim garb and
headdress and carrying swords and machetes.

As they marched toward the third-floor office of House Speaker
Akbar Tandjung, some drew their swords, frightening hundreds of
workers of shoe company PT Kong Tai who have been protesting in
the House building for several weeks.

The group's "commander" Jaffar Umar Thalib during the meeting
demanded that Akbar's Golkar Party, along with other factions in
the House, initiate the constitutional process to impeach the
President for making controversial statements.

The group was particularly offended by the President's remarks
last week that Muslims in Maluku had received special treatment
from the government over the last 30 years or so and that this in
turn had frustrated the Christians, causing conflict between the
two communities.

Forum chairman Ayip Syafruddin Soeratman told reporters after
the meeting that the volunteers would still travel to Maluku
after completing their training this month, irrespective of the
appeals and warnings against their plan.

"If we cannot go, then we will conduct our jihad on Java,"
Ayip said. "We will attack Christians who are most responsible
for what is happening in Ambon," he announced.

Some 3,000 volunteers of the group are currently training in a
camp in Kayumanis district in Bogor.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in sectarian clashes
between Muslims and Christians in Maluku since January last year.
The government says the situation has been brought under control,
with fewer clashes reported in recent weeks.

House Speaker Akbar did not respond to the group's call for
impeachment, but said he would ask the President to refrain from
issuing more controversial statements.

Akbar also pleaded with the group not to go ahead with its
plan to go to Maluku, saying members of the group were bound to
get into physical clashes with people of other communities.

If they really want to help the Maluku people, then they
should send food, clothes and medicine instead, he said.

Sending volunteers would only create new problems, he said,
adding that they should let the proper authority worry about the
security situation in Maluku.

In Ambon, Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela, chief of Pattimura Military
Command which oversees Maluku, warned against anyone planning to
wage any kind of war in the province.

Maluku is now entering a process of peace and reconciliation
and people are tired of conflict, Tamaela said.

"We are ready to face them. If these volunteers come with the
intention to help their sisters and brothers, that's fine. But if
they come here to cause more trouble, the security forces will be
ready to deal with them," Tamaela said.

In Jakarta, Minister of Religious Affairs Tolchah Hasan asked
the police to disband the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum, which
he said had questionable intentions.

"As we can see, the situation in Ambon is improving. These
people would only cause more problems," Tolchah told The Jakarta
Post.

"If they want to support peace, then we should let them go.
But I don't think that's their real intention," he said.

In spite of the appeals to crack down on their activities,
National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo ruled out immediate
confrontation with the group, saying he would use the persuasive
approach to prevent the volunteers from going to Maluku.

"It's pointless to take repressive action given the present
emotional feeling of the group's members," Rusdihardjo said after
attending a ceremony to dissolve the Coordinating Agency to
Support the Strengthening of National Stability (Bakorstanas).

The police will continue to use this approach as long as the
group does not disrupt peace and order, he said.

The police have been criticized for allowing the group's
members to brandish swords and machetes in several demonstrations
they have held since Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Slamet Supriadi, chief of Siliwangi Military Command
overseeing West Java, said the authorities had long known of the
group's activities in the Bogor camp.

Slamet said the villagers did not complain and had in fact
supplied rice to the organizers. (jun/49/edt/dja/rms)