'Political rift to end by April'

'Political rift to end by April'

JAKARTA (JP): In a display of self-confidence, President
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid placed political uncertainties behind
him on Sunday by saying that the crisis plaguing his 14-month-old
tenure would be settled in the coming two months.

Addressing a mass gathering of the capital's indigenous Betawi
people, Abdurrahman solicited ideas from people on how to carry
out the reform agenda.

"We've just come through a political crisis and lots of minor
disputes. What's been happening recently are just meaningless
remnants (of past crises)," Abdurrahman said, without
elaborating.

The President said the country was ready to move ahead with
better economic performance.

"We should all just be calm. Everything will soon disappear. I
think it won't last beyond April. After that we will be able to
restore our economy, develop ourselves and achieve other
important things," he remarked.

The statement came amid the much-anticipated showdown with the
House of Representatives which issued a memorandum of censure on
Feb.1 over two financial scandals it believed to implicate the
President. The memorandum could lead to a special session of the
People's Consultative Assembly aimed at unseating him.

The financial scandals centered on the fraudulent withdrawal
of a Rp 35 billion (US$3.9 million) fund belonging to State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) employees foundation by the President's
masseur and his acceptance of US$2 million in humanitarian aid
from the sultan of Brunei.

Tension has mounted across the country with Abdurrahman
contenders pushing for his resignation. Abdurrahman supporters
have fought back, which has involved some violence as has been
apparent in a series of attacks and acts of arson on Golkar Party
offices in East Java, the stronghold of the President.

Abdurrahman renewed on Sunday his resistance to resignation
calls and reiterated his pledge to carry out sweeping reform
initiatives in line with what students across the country have
demanded.

"We will push forward for total reform. I welcome advice from
students, professors, bureaucrats, officers, ulemas and whoever
else wishes to give me ideas of what kind of reform we want. Just
mail it to Jl. Irian no. 7," Abdurrahman said.

The address is a private house in Menteng, a residential area
in Central Jakarta belonging to one of the President's relatives,
where he regularly holds meetings with close aides.

"The most favored ideas will be our resources, while the rest
we can just add. This is what I mean with sweeping reform which
isn't just led by the President, but should be conducted by the
entire nation," he said.

"I will ask my people to take note of incoming ideas to
conclude the basic ideas of total reform," he added.

Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung and People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais,
were also invited to Sunday's gathering, but none of them could
come due to various other commitments.

The President played down the top figures' absence.

"A gathering of four of the nation's leaders is easy to
materialize. It will only mean nothing if we meet with
mischievous intentions. I believe all national leaders should
place national interests above everything else," he said.

"I just hope they are here with us in spirit. Each of us has
our own duties...but in general we dedicate our efforts to the
country."

While rallies in support of and against Gus Dur continued, the
Indonesian Rector Forum (FRI) completed its meeting in Denpasar
over the weekend with a call for reconciliation among top
political elites.

In its seven-point joint communique, the forum expressed
worries about the lack of wisdom and maturity among the political
elite, which could pose a threat to national unity.

"The forum regrets the use of violence, particularly because
it affect places of worships and schools," the forum coordinator
Eko Budihardjo said.

Eko said the forum also called on the political elite not to
encourage blasphemy against each other or against state
institutions but comply with fair and sportsmanlike rules of the
game instead.

"FRI is concerned about a flurry of accusations which are
based on prejudice, instead of facts," Eko said, without
elaborating.

The forum also urged Gus Dur, Megawati, Akbar and Amien to
"contemplate, make the public interest a priority, deliver on
poor people's demands, smother revengeful intentions, prevent
acts of violence and pledge allegiance to the state".

Finally, the forum demanded the leaders' commitment to
upholding the law and social solidarity which in the end will
significantly contribute to the country's economic recovery.

The forum groups rectors of state and private universities
across the country. Only nine were represented in Denpasar's
meeting, among them were Diponegoro University in Semarang,
Bandung Institute of Technology, Udayana University in Denpasar,
Hasanuddin University in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar
and Andalas University in the West Sumatra capital of Padang.
(har/dja)