NU chairman visits riot-hit Pasuruan

NU chairman visits riot-hit Pasuruan

PASURUAN, East Java (JP): In an effort to restore its badly
dented image after three days of clashes in Pasuruan, the
country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) showed
its human face on Friday in the form of a visit by its chairman
Hasyim Muzadi to damaged churches and the relatives of a local
killed by the police during the disturbances.

Hasyim, accompanied by the chairman of the East Java chapter
of the NU, Ali Maschan Moesa, the Rev. Wismo Hadi of the East
Java chapter of Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), and
Father Eko Budi Susilo of the Indonesian Conference of Churches
(KWI), handed over Rp 2 million for the relatives of Fathan, the
man killed during the riots, another Rp 2 million in cash for the
rehabilitation of the churches and Rp 10 million for the repair
of Muhammadiyah school buildings destroyed during the unrest.

Pasuruan mayor Aminur Rahman and other local religious figures
were also on hand.

"I'm very sad to see all of this. The people's aspirations
have been diverted along the path of religious violence by
certain people. This is all the result of the bickering among the
politicians in Jakarta, who always use the people in their
jockeying for power," Hasyim said at the burned-out Protestant
church.

The church had been torched, while St. Anthony's Catholic
church and another Protestant church were vandalized, during the
disturbances which erupted after the issuance of President
Abdurrahman Wahid's executive order, or Maklumat, on Monday.

Some other towns in East Java, known as a hotbed of support
for President Abdurrahman, have also been tense over the past
four days.

Father Eko Budi said that the desecration of the churches had
allegedly been perpetrated by a third party eager to stir up
interreligious conflict.

"We hope that all religious figures will encourage their
followers to avoid all kinds of religious discord. We also hope
that all people of religion will not let themselves be easily
stirred up," Father Eko said.

National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro had issued a
shoot-on-sight order to his men against any persons attempting to
occupy strategic locations.

The manner in which the Pasuruan police handled the violence,
which resulted in the death of one person (Fathan) from gunshot
wounds and the hospitalization of four others, has been
criticized by President Abdurrahman.

The police, however, hit back saying that everything they did
to curb the disturbances in various parts of the country was
based on standard police procedures.

Upon his arrival at the Muhammadiyah school buildings which
had also been vandalized by the mob during the rioting, Hasyim
met with the chairman of the Pasuruan Muhammadiyah chapter, Imam
Ghazali, and presented him with Rp 10 million in cash to be put
toward their repair.

Yogyakarta

The violence occurring in East Java has drawn expressions of
concern from other areas, including West Java and Yogyakarta.

On Friday, some 25 organizations in Yogyakarta, grouped in the
Anti-Violence Civil Coalition, declared their opposition against
all forms of violence and brutality.

They also called on politicians to adhere to democracy in
order to prevent a return of the military to national politics.

"The current (national) situation where violence has increased
significantly does not bode well for the transition to
democracy," said Djuwarto, the group's spokesman.

Speaking at a media conference at Gadjah Mada University's
Center for Rural and Regional Development Studies, Djuwarto said
that the escalating conflict between the legislature and the
executive had triggered violence at the grassroots level.

"The conflict among the members of the political elite serves
only to prolong the political uncertainty," he said. "If the
present chaotic situation continues, the military will become
involved in politics again. This is what we must avoid," he
asserted.

Many prominent Yogyakarta figures, including Yogyakarta
Humanist Committee (KKY) activists J. Nasikun and Susetiawan,
Believers' Brotherhood Forum (FPUB) activist Father Suyatno, and
the National Awakening Party (PKB) provincial chapter's
secretary, Nur Ahmad Affandi, attended the press conference.
(nur/23/sur)