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Call To Kill Wahid Opponents Remains In Force
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Leaving an open wound unattended, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in a meeting held Wednesday did discuss a fatwa calling for the physical elimination of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's opponents.
Failures to publicly reveal results of the NU meeting caused remonstrations from Jakarta rights workers, while observers said they were concerned for the security of anti-Wahid Members of Parliament (MP).
The NU held a closed-door secret meeting of its law making body (Syuriah) to decide on the legality of the use of the term "rebellion" against those who want to unseat Wahid.
The NU, however, said that results from the meeting would provide valuable input for the movement's plenary meeting scheduled to take place in Banten beginning April 13th. Observers were expecting a firm and final decision from the NU that would have kept the country free from attacks against MPs and other anti-Wahid elements.
Observers in Jakarta said the NU is too powerful not to be able to control its rogue elements from carrying out threats of murdering prominent anti-Wahid politicians.
Observers told IslamOnline that the issue would not be resolved until the NU issues a counter-fatwa ordering its members not to carry out their threats. They also noted that Indonesia has laws that protect both the President and his critics, and that the NU should abide by these laws instead of bringing up "Islamic laws" that are not applicable.
"The president was elected on a non-Islamic platform. He is protected by non-Islamic standards. The NU is also abiding to these standards," one said in an email to IslamOnline.
The message said it was perfectly legal for the NU to decide on responses to actions that undermine the government and that it stands behind Wahid since the President was once its chairman. Wahid chaired the NU for 15 years.
Leading members of the NU, claiming a membership base of 40 million people, gathered some 110 kilometers south of Jakarta, to discuss actions against the move to oust the President.
They discussed on the legality of Wahid's election as president, the necessary response the NU should come up with to the waves of anti-Wahid demonstrations, and on how to tackle the growing instability of the Wahid regime.
In addition, the NU's Joint Command (Komando Bersama) announced it had trained at least 50,000 people ready to defend Wahid in Jakarta, Antara reported.
It said NU members would go to Jakarta should the House of Representative (DPR) issue a second memorandum of censure against the embattled president. Factions of the DPR said they were readying the memorandum and that it would be issued by the beginning of May.
NU commandos consist of members from youth wing organizations, including Ansor, Garda Bangsa, Association of NU Youths and Students, and the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement (PMII).
Wahid has, however, reportedly condemned die-hard supporters on their threats to launch an Islamic holy war against his opponents and is believed to have ordered local police to prevent supporters from taking radical actions.
However, he is currently locked in a bitter political struggle with the House over his erratic leadership style and alleged involvement in corruption to which he responds that he has not committed any wrongdoings, and flatly rejected demands that he quit.
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