NU dissenters hold extraordinary congress
NU dissenters hold extraordinary congress
JAKARTA (JP): Dissenters of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization, taking advantage of the authorities' ambiguous stance over their existence, held an extraordinary congress yesterday to establish a rival executive board.
Abu Hasan, who lost the chairmanship election to incumbent Abdurrahman Wahid at the Moslem group's congress in Dec. 1994, opened the congress despite lacking police permits.
Attended by some 500 participants claiming to represent 23 regional branches and 225 units at regency level, the gathering established a board which is structurally similar to Abdurrahman's board.
Abu Hasan was elected chairman of the rival Tanfidzyah (executive board), while outspoken ulema K.H. Hamid Baidlawi was widely favored to sit at the helm of the Syuriah (law making body).
On the board produced at the 1994 congress in Cipasung, West Java, Abdurrahman Wahid is the chairman of the Tanfidzyah, while respected ulema K.H. Ilyas Ruchyat sits at Syuriah.
"I am confident that the government will recognize the results of this extraordinary congress," Abu Hasan told reporters covering the event. "Whoever is elected in this congress will function as a bridge between this board and (Abdurrahman's) board."
The congress proceeded relatively smoothly, although there were reportedly attempts by the police to persuade the organizers to stop the meeting. Lower level officers, however, appeared to be at a loss as to how to react to the meeting.
The National Police Headquarters announced yesterday it did not issue any permits for the gathering.
Abu Hasan said he did not need permits to hold the gathering under the recently issued decree which abolished the requirements for organizations to need gathering permits. The decree stipulates that organizations have only to notify the authorities of their plans.
Sources at the local police office told The Jakarta Post and Kompas that they had just turned a blind eye to the proceedings, even though there were a number of inconsistencies in Abu Hasan's notification.
"If the meeting proceeds in a way which is consistent with the organizer's application for permits, we'll just do this.." a police officer said, gesturing to cover his eyes.
"This is not to say that there are no problems regarding permits, but what can we do? We have instructions from our superiors," he said, requesting anonymity.
In his letter of notification to the National Police Headquarters, Abu Hasan said his group would hold a "grand conference" with the intention to silaturahmi (strengthen) brotherly ties. In it, the participants would only "pray and talk about religious matters".
Abu Hasan also claimed that his group would not hold an extraordinary congress.
As it turned out, however, the "grand conference with the intention to strengthen brotherly ties" developed into a congress from the outset. Abu Hasan opened the morning session himself, and launched a critical speech of Abdurrahman's board.
Abu Hasan pointed out that his was not a rival board; it was, instead, the legitimate board because Abdurrahman's board was produced in a rigged election.
"It is now up to you all, whether you want to return to (Abdurrahman's) board," he said to the NU ulemas, some of whom admitted that they did not realize they had been invited to Jakarta to establish a rival board.
"You decide," Abu Hasan said. "Remember the people. If you refuse, then I'll probably go to heaven alone."
In the afternoon session, a number of unscheduled events, such as the plenary session in which participants aired their criticism about Abdurrahman's board, were held. This peaked in the holding of the extraordinary congress in the evening.
Abu Hasan and the other organizers claimed that the number of participants were enough to justify their quest to dissolve Abdurrahman's board and change the organization's statutes.
Abu also criticized Abdurrahman for threatening to dismiss NU members who attended the "grand conference" or the "extraordinary congress". "His stance is really undemocratic, and does not reflect ahlaqul karimah (good conduct)," Abu said.
The government has been giving conflicting parties within the largest Moslem organization mixed signals. Soon after the 1994 congress, when Abu Hasan declared his opposition to Abdurrahman's board, the government said the congress was not yet "finished".
More recently, however, some officials said Abdurrahman's board was the legitimate one and that they could not tolerate Abu Hasan if he "went too far" and established a rival board. (swe)
Editorial -- Page 4