NU to hold mass prayer in support of the President

JAKARTA (JP): Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) will hold a mass prayer here on Sunday as a show of support for beleaguered President Abdurrahman Wahid and to seek divine intervention for peace.

"NU followers from Greater Jakarta and several other areas will join the mass prayer. However, we have to be very cautious so our good intentions will not be tainted by other parties," one of NU's chairmans, Salahuddin Wahid, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

"Actually, we do not need to show our support for the President like this but it is the decision of the NU executive board," Salahuddin, who is also Abdurrahman's brother, added.

He maintained that people should be fair as Abdurrahman's critics have been taking to the streets every day, so it is also the right of Abdurrahman's supporters to show their support.

Meanwhile in Yogyakarta, a clash broke out between NU followers wearing National Awakening Party (PKB) emblems and Muhammadiyah followers on Sunday.

There were no injuries reported.

It occurred as hundreds of NU followers passed Jl. Ahmad Dahlan where the Muhammadiyah office is located after a mass prayer.

It is unclear how the incident broke out but what could have been a wider clash was quickly contained by police.

But the chief of the Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah security task force, Soleh Chan maintained that NU supporters came into contact with the youth wing movement of the United Development Party (PPP), Movement of Ka'bah Defenders (GPK), and not those from Muhammadiyah.

"I ordered my personnel to leave the site as the group from the mass prayer entered the street," he said.

As a show of solidarity the Yogyakarta branch chiefs of NU Sofwan Helmy and Muhammadiyah Ali Warsito met later in the day and called on their followers to restrain themselves from anarchistic acts.

Ali Warsito maintained that there must have been a third party provoking the attack on the Muhammadiyah buildings in East Java to instigate conflicts between followers of the two organizations.

"It's impossible that NU followers would attack Muhammadiyah facilities because many NU members studied at Muhammadiyah-owned schools and universities," he told reporters during the meeting.

Rallies

Separately demonstrations both in support of and against the government continued in several cities, including Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java.

Around 1,000 students and workers staged an anti-government demonstration at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta, on Sunday, demanding Abdurrahman step down.

The demonstrators from the Jakarta and Bogor Student Network, the Confederation of Independent Labor Union (Gaspermindo) and the Indonesian Muslim Trade Union (PPMI) marched to the Hotel Indonesia roundabout and then the Merdeka palace despite heavy downpour.

They also condemned the recent violent rallies in East Java and called on law enforcers to punish those involved in the burning of the Golkar Party's office in Surabaya.

In Bangkalan, Madura, no less than 2,000 NU supporters in a massive convoy were apparently heading towards the local Golkar Party local office.

Police however were able to avoid any potential outbreak after negotiating with the rally leaders.

"The traffic flow between Madura and Surabaya will be disturbed if we fail to persuade the demonstrators to disperse peacefully," Achmady, chief of the Police precinct remarked.

In Surabaya, around 200 people describing themselves as "pro- democracy activists" staged a peaceful demonstration to protest the recent violence which occurred in East Java.

"Stop vandalism in politics," said activist Pester.

In Malang, thousands of supporters of the President held a joint prayer for national unity in facing the common enemy: the continuing economic crisis.

They also conducted a convoy around the town, causing a traffic jam along the main Malang-Surabaya route.

In Surakarta, Central Java, around 1,000 youths calling themselves the Surakarta Students and People's Action, marched to demand the President's resignation.

Widodo, coordinator of the demonstrators, said they would continue their action until the President steps down.

"Gus Dur must step down because he has lost the people's support. If he refuses to do so, he is not a statesman or a leader," he said as quoted by Antara news agency. (nur/rms/44/dja)