Protesters block Ketapang Port

SURABAYA (JP): Supporters of President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, angered by what they see as moves by the House of Representatives to unseat the President, blocked Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi on Tuesday.

The action brought to a halt all port activities for half of the day.

The "mass prayer" began at about 9 a.m. when approximately 5,000 people gathered at the port's terminals. By 10 a.m. the protesters had occupied the entire port, forcing the cancellation of ferries departing for and arriving from Gilimanuk, Bali.

The operational manager of river, lake and ferry transportation, Arsilam, said he had no choice but halt all activities at the port.

The closure of the port affected the travel plans of three ministers, who happened to be in Banyuwangi and were to depart for an official trip to Denpasar.

The three are Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Zarkasih Nur and Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika.

Sarwono told The Jakarta Post from Banyuwangi on Tuesday that "the ministers are in Banyuwangi on separate business and have nothing to do with the mass prayer or protests".

"I went to discuss maritime affairs with the local regents and to inspect the port. Earlier, the port was used for the mass prayer. That is it. Everything went as usual and the entourage did not avoid any protest," he said.

The port authority said 13 ferries, which carry an average of 150 passengers, were unable to sail to Gilimanuk, Bali, because of the protest.

The Gilimanuk Port authority said 14 ferries plied the Ketapang-Gilimanuk route, with each of the ferries making the round-trip eight times per day.

The "mass prayer" also caused severe traffic congestion in the neighboring town of Situbondo.

According to Arsilam, the protesters, who came from Ketapang and the neighboring districts of Rogojampi and Wongsorejo, dispersed peacefully at about 12:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, protesters continued to cut trees and block roads in Situbondo. The protesters, who are supporters of Gus Dur, have begun to cut trees in the protected forest of Mrawan Merubetiri.

People claiming to be supporters of Gus Dur earlier ransacked the offices of Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) in Gresik. This prompted an emergency meeting between the East Java authorities and officials of the provincial offices of Golkar, PAN, the United Development Party (PPP), Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), at the Grahadi gubernatorial hall on Tuesday night.

Hasan Basri, the deputy chairman of Golkar's East Java executive board, said at the meeting that the Golkar offices in Banyuwangi and Jombang had been vandalized by Gus Dur supporters. "Our office in Malang was almost burned down by a similar group of people. However, no one was arrested."

East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutanto said at the meeting that his men had to be extra cautious in apprehending people given the situation.

Sutanto said preparations had been made to anticipate a huge demonstration planned by Gus Dur's supporters for Wednesday.

Separately in Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said on Tuesday he had met with Gus Dur and asked him to calm his supporters in East Java.

"I have asked Gus Dur to calm his supporters since not everything is in the hands of the police," Bimantoro said during a meeting with legislators from House Commission I for security and defense.

Gus Dur's response

Speaking at Bina Graha presidential office, President Abdurrahman Wahid called on his supporters to exercise restraint.

"Leave everything to the democratic process, trust us... that nothing will happen," Abdurrahman said, adding that calls for restraint also had been conveyed to his supporters by the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Hasyim Muzadi.

Hasyim said he expected the people to avoid violence when expressing their support for Gus Dur. "Maintain peace and order, please. If people want to channel their wishes they must avoid anarchic actions, and do not use the name of NU."

However, he said the House should be held responsible for the current situation in the country because of its persistent efforts to unseat Abdurrahman.

"I hope the House will stop its 'correction' (of Gus Dur), and the President should start listening to the House, and the House should start listening to the people," he said, adding that the policies of the House were not always in harmony with the wishes of the people.

In Surabaya, the deputy chairman of the East Java chapter of NU, Nuruddin A Rahman, called on Gus Dur supporters not to block roads and to stop using the name of NU in their street actions.

"Officially, NU has never instructed its members to take to the streets."

Meanwhile on Tuesday, at least 1,500 students from three separate groups gathered near the House to demand the People's Consultative Assembly call a special session to impeach Gus Dur.

The demonstrators dispersed peacefully in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, some 200 progovernment demonstrators slammed the House for what it called a political conspiracy to topple the President.

Also on Tuesday, around 3,000 members of Forum Kota staged a protest in front of Atma Jaya University on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta to demand the dissolution of Golkar Party.

Similar demonstrations took place on Tuesday in the Central Java towns of Kebumen and Ungaran, and the Central Java capital of Semarang.

In Bandung, the Muhammadiyah provincial board deployed on Tuesday as many as 2,500 members of its youth wing to guard the organization's properties from possible vandalism by Gus Dur supporters. (team)