Rally in support of Gus Dur turns violent
Rally in support of Gus Dur turns violent
JAKARTA (JP): A Golkar Party branch office in Pasuruan, East
Java was attacked as rallies in support for President Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid continued on Sunday.
Riding vehicles and yelling support for the embattled
President, some 75 angry people stoned the glass windows of the
Golkar office in Paci district on their way back home from a mass
rally in Bangil square.
No casualties were reported in the attack, Antara reported.
A witness, Ismail, told the news agency the incident happened
suddenly so that nobody could stop it. He said another group of
Gus Dur supporters arrived later in the day, but this time police
were already in place to prevent further destruction.
The mass rally in Pasuruan was part of mass gatherings held
almost simultaneously across East Java by people who pledged to
keep Gus Dur in his current post until his term ends in 2004.
East Java is the main stronghold of Gus Dur supporters.
On Saturday, the protesters blockaded the road linking
Situbondo and Banyuwangi with logs of wood placed in the streets,
causing massive a traffic jam in the area.
A similar rally also took place in the Central Java capital of
Semarang, when thousands of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) supporters
converged at the local legislature to warn people of remnants of
the New Order regime whom they accused of masterminding the move
to topple Abdurrahman.
The foreseeable tension escalated after the House of
Representatives censured Abdurrahman on Thursday over his alleged
involvement in two financial scandals, dubbed Buloggate and
Bruneigate. Many Gus Dur supporters believe the investigation
into Gus Dur's role in the scandals is part of constitutional
attempts to oust the controversial President.
Pressures for Abdurrahman to resign have mounted since then,
including from People's Consultative Assembly Amien Rais and
other parties who catapulted him to presidency last year.
After overnight rallies, thousands of Abdurrahman's supporters
took to streets on Sunday in the East Java towns of Pasuruan,
Malang, Mojokerto, Probolinggo and Sidoarjo.
A group of activists claiming to represent the Alliance Forum
of People and Students in Pasuruan held a speech forum at the
cross road of the highway linking Malang and Surabaya, causing
traffic congestion for four hours.
Among their demands was the dissolution of Golkar, which they
accused of representing the interests of the old regime.
In Malang, Abdurrahman supporters grouped as the Anti-New
Order Committee (KRAOB) took to streets in a motorcade. They
criticized the result of the House investigation into the Bulog
and Brunei scandals and accused Golkar and the loose coalition of
Muslim-based parties called Axis Force of conspiring to oust the
President through the House special committee.
In response to the rallies, chief of East Java's National
Awakening Party (PKB) Choirul Anam said he had called on the party
supporters not to take to the streets.
"We can only persuade, but we were unable to stop them. This
was a spontaneous move to express their disagreement with the
political elite in the House," Choirul said.
Meanwhile, calls for Golkar's dissolution were also aired by
11 Muslim-based political parties that are unrepresented in the
House.
"Golkar should be held responsible for the country's hardships
over the past years, so it should be dissolved as its presence
hampers the reform movement," chairman of the alliance of parties
Deliar Noer said in Jakarta on Sunday.
Rallies against Abdurrahman also continued on Sunday.
Speaking before around 10,000 supporters of the United
Development Party (PPP) at the Alun-alun Utara square in front of
Yogyakarta Palace, chief of the party's provincial chapter Fauzi
A.R. said PPP followers in the town were fully behind the House
in connection with its showdown with the President.
"PPP continues to urge the House to adopt follow-up measures
as a political consequence of its censure against President
Abdurrahman Wahid," Fauzi said.
"Gus Dur has failed in carrying out the reform mandate," he
added.
Held under heavy rain, the gathering coincided with the
party's 28th anniversary celebration.
Besides the PPP's local executives, also present at the
celebration were deputy chairman of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) Husni Thamrin and party activist Moedrick S.
Sangidoe from Surakarta, Central Java.
PPP Yogyakarta also asked Yogyakarta governor Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X, to clearly state his stance towards Gus Dur's
government.
"He once invited national figures including Gus Dur, Megawati,
Amien Rais, and Akbar Tandjung to meet at his palace. He should
not keep silent right now," Moedrick said.
Husni Thamrin further said that Gus Dur was only "buying
time." (nur/swa/edt/har/dja)