President's supporters warn of rebellion in East Java

President's supporters warn of rebellion in East Java

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people braved heavy rain on Monday
as they marched through the city's thoroughfares in a display of
support for President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, whose
political legitimacy slid to a further low after the House of
Representatives issued him a second censure.

In their last-ditch effort to prevent the issuance of the
second memorandum of censure, the emotional supporters of the
beleaguered President, mostly from East Java, warned that any
attempt to oust Abdurrahman would spark a rebellion in the
province that is one of the President's strongholds.

Wearing headbands and waving Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) flags, the
demonstrators spread out banners which, among other things, said,
"Long live Gus Dur" and "If Gus Dur falls, East Java separates",
as they headed for the House, where 500 legislators were debating
whether to rebuke the President for the second time.

The fanatic crowd was led by Fawaid As'ad from Asy-Salafiah
Islamic boarding school in Situbondo, East Java. Many of those
were participants in Sunday's mass prayer who defied their
leaders' calls to return home immediately.

From early in the morning, the protesters began to gather at
the National Monument (Monas) park near the Presidential Palace.
After negotiating with the police who had earlier set up
roadblocks at a number of main streets, they continued their
march to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle at about 11 a.m.

"We are here to oppose the second censure, there will be
bloodshed if Gus Dur falls," a man named Achmad from Lumajang,
East Java, said.

Some of the supporters had undergone weeks of paramilitary
training in East Java under the banner of the "Defenders of
Truth" force.

Fears of violence failed to materialize as they eventually
took a U-turn at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and moved
back to Monas square. A roadblock of 20 buses parked on Jl.
Sudirman kept them from the House.

"Pak Kyai asked us not to go to the House. We must obey it,"
one of the protesters said, referring to Hasyim Muzadi, the NU
chairman.

"If Gus Dur is ousted however, we will strike back," added the
protester from the East Java town of Pasuruan.

Included in the rally were 500 people grouped in the Blitar
White Tiger Truth Defenders Front.

"We want to deliver our aspirations to the House, which we
assume to have hampered the reform movement," the group leader
Ahmad Tamim said. He, like other group members, wore a headband
which read "Ario Blitar" (Blitar Knight).

"If only we had been allowed to by our ulemas, we could have
broken the security cordon, since we were prepared to do so, no
matter how many personnel were guarding the House compound,"
Tamim said.

He said his group had complied with the request of an East
Java ulema M. Subadar, who informed them that the House had
received 10 representatives of Gus Dur's supporters from East
Java to deliver their message.

According to Tamim, the Blitar group, which came from 22
districts, arrived in Jakarta on Friday.

Some 150 supporters from another part of East Java who called
themselves Sidoarjo Gus Dur Supporters Forum (FPGD) also turned
up for the rally.

The supporters, who arrived in Jakarta on Saturday and were
led by Pramono stretched out a long banner which read, "The House
considers people are deaf, blind and stupid all the time".

"We just wanted to warn the House that it should not take a
decision at its own whim or for the sake of personal or group
interests," Pramono said.

He said that the second memorandum against the President was
unnecessary as it was against the people's true wishes.

"We can accept the memorandum, but we cannot control people in
remote areas," he said.

In the evening, most of the East Javanese boarded police
trucks which took them to the Senen railway and bus stations.

Separately, 150 activists from 15 NGOs grouped under the Anti-
New Order People's Front (Frarob) also staged a rally under a
flyover near the House on Monday, demanding the dissolution of
the House, the Golkar Party and the trial of corrupt officials
from the New Order government.

"We don't care about the censure against Abdurrahman Wahid. We
just want to see the legislature, which is home to a number of
New Order cronies, dissolved," Reinhard Sirait who led the rally
said. (01/02)