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A week after meeting detained
militant, he opens session of Laskar Jihad group, widening his
rift with Megawati
By Devi
Asmarani
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU
JAKARTA - Indonesian Vice-President
Hamzah Haz continued to march out of step with the Megawati
administration, opening a meeting of the militant Laskar Jihad
group and saying he did not know about government plans to arrest
its leader.
His remarks and agreement to open
its national congress yesterday increased the controversy which
threatens to further sour ties with President Megawati
Sukarnoputri, following his widely-publicised visit to the group's
detained leader Jafaar Umar Thalib last week.
Mr Hamzah, chairman of the
Muslim-based United Development Party, defied critics by attending
the annual meeting of the Java-based paramilitary group, whose
members were ordered by the government last week to back out of
the sectarian conflicts in Maluku.
Sources said he had disregarded Ms
Megawati's disapproval of his public show of sympathy for Jafaar,
despite the fact that the latter had threatened her in a sermon
delivered in Ambon, Maluku, last month.
Jafaar had also called on Muslims
to prepare to fight rival Christian groups, opening himself to
charges of inciting a bloody attack on a Christian village two
days after he spoke.
An adviser to the President said:
'She was quite offended by Hamzah because he seems to be defending
Jafaar, instead of standing by her government's decision.'
Indeed, since Jafaar's arrest, Mr
Hamzah has openly contradicted the President.
At the Laskar Jihad meeting
yesterday, he denied that Jafaar's arrest had been agreed upon
during a Cabinet meeting, as stated by Defence Minister Matori
Abdul Djalil.
He said: 'There were no discussions
over the arrest of Jafaar Umar Thalib in any Cabinet meeting - I
was there.
'The arrest was merely the result
of work by the police.'
But sources insisted that Ms
Megawati had consulted him several days beforehand - although he
did not approve the action - and he was angry when he discovered
the police had taken Jafaar into custody.
She also urged him not to visit
Jafaar when she found out about his plan.
'She reminded him of the
consequences, how it would affect public perception of the
government. But he went ahead anyway,' one of her advisers said.
Mr Hamzah yesterday reiterated his
position that Laskar Jihad should withdraw from the Maluku
conflict only after the government made sure the rival Christian
Maluku Sovereignty Forum (FKM) was disbanded and it was 'safe for
Muslims there'.
The government has arrested FKM
leaders and ordered its disbandment.
Despite the tension between the
President and Vice-President, political observers did not expect
the situation to deteriorate to the extent that it did in the
administration of former-president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Political scientist Affan Gaffar
said: 'Megawati never reveals her feelings publicly, so her
problems with Hamzah will likely be contained within her inner
circle.'
Officials of her Indonesian
Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) were optimistic that Mr Hamzah,
who leads the third largest party in Parliament, would continue to
serve in her coalition government, because his own party was
facing internal strife.
'He is just trying to raise his
political leverage by siding with the Muslim hardliners because he
feels that the President has not catered to his interests,' said
PDI-P legislator Subagyo Anam.
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