No Amien, Megawati, Gus Dur meeting
No Amien, Megawati, Gus Dur meeting
JAKARTA (JP): Student activists' campaign to bring together
three opposition leaders and have them issue statements that
would defuse mounting tension between opponents and supporters of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), was foiled on Monday
because of one leader's poor health.
Amien Rais, the leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN),
was taken by the student activists to the house of Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, but the latter was out
receiving medical treatment.
The third figure was Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of
a faction of the splintered Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI),
but there was no official word as to why she did not show up at
Abdurrahman's residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta. She lives
about 15 minutes drive away in Kebagusan, also in South Jakarta.
Amien, however, said he was not disappointed that he failed to
meet Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, and Megawati. "As a
man of faith, I believe man can only propose while God disposes.
"The students have been very intensive (in their efforts to
bring about the meeting), but Gus Dur is still being treated...
let's pray, and wish Gus Dur well," Amien said after meeting NU
officials for half an hour.
NU deputy chairman Fadjrul Falah said Abdurrahman, accompanied
by his wife, would be undergoing medical treatment for two hours.
He did not say what the treatment was or where it was being
administered.
Abdurrahman was recently discharged from Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital after being checked for high blood pressure. He
was treated for about two months at the hospital after undergoing
brain surgery in January.
Fadjrul said he appreciated the visit and said the meeting
could not take place only because of "unmatched schedules".
"We appreciate Amien Rais' visit, he has come here all the way
from the (Soekarno-Hatta) airport," Fadjrul said.
Amien had landed from Surabaya earlier in the day. He visited
the provincial capital of East Java on Sunday to inaugurate the
provincial branch of the newly established PAN.
Amien, who is the former leader of the 28-million strong
Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, said he would try to contact
Megawati and Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to arrange a meeting for
later in the evening.
Hamengkubuwono was reportedly in the city and the students
deemed the newly elected Yogyakarta governor as one of the
popular leaders who could help defuse the tension in the run-up
to the Special Session.
Students and opposition politicians have rejected the Special
Session saying that it only serve the interests of the government
of President B.J. Habibie.
Included among the most important public aspirations that have
yet to be met are demands for the prosecution of former president
Soeharto for political and economic crimes, a thorough
investigation into his wealth and that of his family members and
cronies, an end to the Armed Forces' sociopolitical role, a firm
date for a general election and a guarantee of open, free and
honest polls and the abolition of the law compelling political
parties to have the state ideology Pancasila in their
constitutions.
Concern about possible clashes between the opponents and
supporters of the session has been prompted by the deployment of
30,000 troops and police and about 125,000 civilian guards to
secure the MPR compound.
The chairman of the Golkar faction at the Assembly, Marzuki
Darusman, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that the civilians --
albeit clad in military-style uniforms -- were prone to take
inappropriate actions.
"They will not be able to handle a situation as professionally
as the security forces," Marzuki, who is deputy chairman of the
National Commission on Human Rights, said. (byg)