Ulemas air support for Gus Dur's presidency

Ulemas air support for Gus Dur's presidency

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): A meeting of senior ulemas of East
Java pledged on Sunday to give their support to President
Abdurrahman Wahid until the end of his term in 2004.

The commitment was made in a meeting between President
Abdurrahman, senior figures of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim
organization and police leaders in East Java, which was hosted by
KH Abdullah Faqih and attended by NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi and
East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. E. Sutanto.

East Java's senior ulemas such as KH Yusuf Hasyim of Jombang,
KH Muchith Muzadi of Jember, KH Zarkasyi of Banyuwangi, KH Idris
Marzuki and Zainuddin Jazuli of Kediri and KH Fawaid of Situbondo
were among influential leaders attending the meeting.

Central Java's KH Muslim Imam Puro of Klaten attended the
meeting as a guest.

"The Kyais (ulemas) in an overnight informal meeting discussed
various social and political developments and agreed to support
Abdurrahman Wahid's administration until 2004 in a critical way,"
said KH Yusuf Muhammad, deputy chairman of the National Awakening
Party (PKB) who attended the meeting.

Prior to President Abdurrahman's arrival on Sunday, an
overnight closed-door meeting of the influential Kyais took place
in the 170-year-old Langitan Islamic Boarding School.

"The overnight meeting mostly discussed the Kyais' concerns
over rampant abuse of power among elites and tendencies within
society to take the law in its own hands," Yusuf said.

In the Sunday meeting with the President, KH Agus Abdullah
Habib Faqih, the son of KH Abdullah Faqih, claimed that the
gathering was "non-political ... and was planned long before the
Christmas Eve bombings."

"We are very much concerned with the lack of nationhood, the
prolonged economic and social crisis and violence backed by
powerful parties. Everyone has pointed fingers and tried to avoid
responsibility," Agus said.

President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Sunday that despite
mounting criticism of his leadership, he and his government faced
no immediate political danger and called on his supporters not to
resort to mobilizing masses in his defense.

"Just leave politics to me. Do not worry, I am still calm,"
Abdurrahman said.

"If I can no longer stand it, I will run to see the Kyais."

East Java is the stronghold of NU, the country's largest
Muslim organization, which Abdurrahman headed for 15 consecutive
years until he became the country's first democratically-elected
president in October 1999.

Abdurrahman is the founder of PKB, which came fourth in the
1999 general election with 51 legislative seats in the House of
Representatives.

NU leaders have warned that tens of thousands of NU supporters
in East Java were ready to march on Jakarta to defend Abdurrahman
against his political opponents should they mobilize masses to
hold anti-Wahid protests in the capital.

There are rumors of plans for mass anti-Wahid protests in the
capital on Jan. 15.

"To those people who are striving to unseat me, please go
ahead, I have the courage to march forward and I have no fear.

"Many have spoken behind my back, among other things that 'the
President has a prerogative right, why then does he hide behind
the Vice President?' Such remarks are twisted.

"I also have the right to consult with the Vice President. So,
what's to hide?" Abdurrahman said.

The Kyais in the meeting came up with five points of taushiyah
(advice) which call for the country's executive, judicial and
legislature to go back to their original tasks and oaths to bring
Indonesia out of the crisis, to end political violence, to
achieve national reconciliation, to stop criminal actions and to
stop society taking the law into its own hands.

Earlier on Saturday, Abdurrahman was quoted by Antara as
saying that there were four groups bent on ousting him from
power.

He identified the groups as those with strong ambitions for
power, those who are afraid of legal actions by the government,
those who wanted to maintain the status quo, including supporters
of former president Soeharto and several generals, and those
using religion for their own ends.

The President, however, did not mention any names.

He also said that opposition to his government was merely the
work of only a few people.

"At the most, 16 people in the legislature," Wahid said, again
mentioning no names. (nur/edt)