NU ambivalent about mass rally

NU ambivalent about mass rally

JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) officials refused on Friday
to take a position on the possibility of its members flooding the
capital in support of President Abdurrahman Wahid in the coming
special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, saying
they would neither send nor deter them.

The chairman of NU's East Java branch, Ali Maschan Moesa,
maintained that NU would not mobilize its followers to go to the
capital, but neither was it in a position to prevent them should
they desire to show their support for the President.

"NU will never support unrest, but the Assembly should listen
to the people's voices and if they continue to pursue the special
session, which is unconstitutional, the people themselves may
dissolve the Assembly," Ali told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He underlined that people have a right to show their
discontent toward the Assembly.

"We will try to calm the people, but you have to remember that
Abdurrahman's supporters are not just NU followers," Ali
asserted.

Abdurrahman led NU, the largest Muslim organization in the
country, for one-and-a-half decades before he was elected
president in 1999.

The specter of a mass flood of Abdurrahman's supporters
continues to be a possibility, with some fearing that the
concentration of large crowds could incite unrest.

Meanwhile, Ansor chairman Saifullah Yusuf said that all Ansor
members should stay in their respective areas and help the public
maintain security ahead of and after the Assembly special
session.

"They have to leave political problems to their leaders and
stay in their respective areas. I will prevent them from flooding
the capital," Saifullah told the Post on Friday.

Ansor is the youth wing of NU.

He further remarked that Ansor will not organize any kind of
mass mobilization ahead of the Assembly special session and urged
all members to cooperate with other organizations to keep the
country peaceful. (dja)