LAKSAMANA, May 8, 2002 06:05 PM
Muslim Brotherhood or Political Brotherhood?
Laksamana.Net - Vice President Hamzah Haz has come under fire for his meeting
with arrested Laskar Jihad chief Jafar Umar Thalib, who is accused of inciting a recent
massacre of Christian villagers in Ambon, Maluku province.
Some observers said the visit on Tuesday (7/5/02) was an effort to pressure police to
release Jafar Umar and was clearly at odds with President Megawati Sukarnoputri's
pledge to crack down on communal violence and terrorism.
"Hamzah Haz sent the wrong signals to people who are worried about stability in
Indonesia and the rest of the region. That visit was a major slap in the face to
Megawati's policies. She should sack him,” said a US businessman based in
Jakarta.
But Haz, who chairs of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), on
Wednesday denied that he had made any political deals with Jafar Umar during their
90-minute meeting at Islamic militia leader's cell at Jakarta Police headquarters.
"I went there as a Muslim. Part of Islamic unity is Islamic brotherhood ... my visit was
within that framework," he was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse.
"There were no political affairs discussed ... there were no political deals," he said.
Muslim leader Eggy Sujana, who accompanied the vice president during the meeting,
said Haz had asked Jafar Umar to see that Laskar Jihad surrenders its weapons and
withdraws from Ambon.
Sujana, who himself has been accused in the past of fueling religious unrest, said
Jafar Umar agreed to remove Laskar Jihad from Ambon if the government guarantees
to take firm action against supporters of the South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist
movement.
Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais on Wednesday
singled out Haz's visit to Jafar Umar as an example of the lack of cohesion among
Indonesia's political elite.
In answer to a question put to him at a lunch organized by foreign business
chambers, he said the visit was a clear sign of open dissent in the leadership.
Suggesting that the visit could have been meant to give Jafar Umar a "moral boost,”
Rais nevertheless said "it is setting a different appearance than that set by the
President”. [see Too Many Elite Battles: Rais]
Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Akbar Tanjung, speaking at a
separate occasion, expressed concern that Haz's visit could influence police.
"I hope the police investigation won't be affected by the vice president's visit," he said.
Jafar Umar was arrested on May 4 and is being investigated for allegedly inciting the
April 28 attack in Ambon that left at least 13 people dead. He has also been charged
with insulting Megawati.
Prominent political observer Arbi Sanit, who lectures in politics at the prestigious
University of Indonesia, criticized Haz, saying the meeting gave the impression that
the vice president had taken sides with the Laskar Jihad leader.
"The vice president claimed that his visit was aimed at giving him an opportunity to
help Jafar understand about a solution to the Ambon conflict. But the approach was
laden with nuances of intervention," Sanit was quoted as saying by state news
agency Antara.
Haz asserted that he had gone to Jafar Umar's cell in his capacity as a Muslim
individual to visit a brother in distress. "It has nothing to do with my being vice
president," he said.
But Sanit said the visit gave the impression of high-level support for Jafar Umar.
The meeting might prompt Megawati to reprimand Haz, but given the president's
taciturn nature it's unlikely she will confront him head on.
Haz, who has three wives, in 1999 objected strongly to Megawati's bid for the
presidency on the grounds that a woman president would be unacceptable to Islam.
The presence of radical Islamic groups such as Laskar Jihad may be of benefit to
certain rogue generals wishing to create chaos in the archipelago to further their own
interests, but analysts say there's virtually no chance the military would want to see
the nationalist, secular Megawati replaced by Haz, who is seen as lacking political
acumen and being something of a loose cannon.
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