NU to hold seminar on presidency and related gender issues
NU to hold seminar on presidency and related gender issues
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Indonesia's largest Islamic
organization Nahdlatul Ulama, whose members have been divided
over the concept of a woman president, will hold a national
seminar to discuss the presidency and the gender issue.
Noer Iskandar al-Barsany, one of the organizers, told The
Jakarta Post the seminar is being planned in connection with the
organization's congress, which is held every five years, in
Kediri, East Java, in November.
The event will be held on July 16 and July 17, but Noer did
not name the venue.
"This national seminar is on the pre-conference agenda. It is
to be held in cooperation with the Purwekerto-based Institute of
Religion and Philosophy Studies," Noer said.
Several top NU leaders, including Abdurrahman Wahid (also
known as Gus Dur) will attend, as will scholars Masdar Farid
Mas'udi and Mohammad Sobary.
Noer dismissed the suggestion that the planned seminar was to
pave the way for Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose presidential
bid has been rejected by many Muslim groups on the grounds that
Islam bars a woman from heading an administration.
"This is a purely scientific seminar by NU ulemas," he said.
However, he did not deny that the seminar could be
advantageous for Megawati should the participants issue a stance
allowing a woman president.
Despite the controversy over a woman presidency, support for
Megawati has continued to flow. Several supporters in Bandung,
West Java, initiated a drive to collect thumb prints in blood on
a 200-meter-long white banner.
In addition, according to coordinator Dedy Hermansyah,
"hundreds of supporters will go the House of Representatives" to
voice their wish that she be elected president.
Dedy said no PDI Perjuangan officials had instructed them to
take up the campaign, although he admitted to have been
influenced by similar drives in East Java and other places.
In many cases, Indonesians have been divided into two camps:
those supporting Megawati, and those who support Golkar's
presidential candidate, B.J. Habibie.
A vote of support for the incumbent came on Tuesday from
Indonesia's most senior army general, Abdul Harus Nasution, who
is honored as one of only three five-star "great generals" in
Indonesia. The other two are former president Soeharto and the
late Gen. Soedirman.
"We must give him our support. We have no other choice,"
Nasution said after his meeting with Habibie at Merdeka Palace.
Habibie has frequently visited Nasution, especially on Islamic
holidays.
Opportunity
Meanwhile, rights campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis said that
Megawati, although she was not an ideal candidate, should be
given the opportunity to become the next president.
"Megawati is very shy and has not articulated her thoughts
much. But, the first priority should be given to her as her party
has won the elections," Todung told members of the Asian News
Network on Tuesday. "And Megawati should not surrender, but
continue her struggle," he said.
Political observer Hermawan Sulistyo said Megawati's road to
the presidency will be a difficult one as she is not backed up by
the military.
"She also has communication problems with the press," he said,
quoting media people citing she was already a "dictator".
He said, however, that members of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) should remember when they gather to elect a new
president in November that Megawati has scores of supporters who
might not be able to accept their leader's defeat.
Hermawan dismissed speculation that a military figure will
take advantage of the weaknesses of both Habibie and Megawati to
gain prominence and the presidency.
"I'm sure that a military candidate will receive strong
opposition from people at the grassroots level and the students,"
he said.
Senior economist Anwar Nasution, who spoke at the same event,
lamented how difficult it was for the public, and also political
analysts, to understand Megawati due to her elusiveness.
"We cannot read her mind," Nasution said.
Nasution, also dean of the University of Indonesia's School of
Economics, said Megawati cannot be compared with Corazon Aquino
of the Philippines or Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan given the
different situations in the countries.
"It's thanks to former president Soeharto that she became a
hero," he said.(05/43/44/45/imn)