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Indonesian Wahid Vows to Lead Moral Struggle for Democracy
Indonesian former President Abdurrahman Wahid Thursday afternoon vowed to lead a national moral struggle for justice and democratization.
Addressing thousands of his supporters who had been waiting since the morning in the National Monument park in Central Jakarta to bid him farewell and good luck prior to his departure to the United States for a medical checkup, Wahid said he would return to his personal residence in Ciganjur in South Jakarta upon his return from the United States and start his moral campaign and struggle.
"I will return to Ciganjur pesantren (Islamic boarding school) and lead the moral struggle. Along with Rachmawati (Soekarnoputri) and other figures, we will fight for justice and democracy, if necessary with our blood and tears," he told the crowd while referring to the younger sister of newly elected President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
"We only have one commitment, ... to uphold justice, which is the prerequisite for democracy. Democracy without justice is only a joke," he was quoted by the Metro TV television station as saying.
Wahid also asked his supporters to avoid violence, saying that democracy would only grow in the absence of violence.
The former president left Merdeka Palace on Thursday afternoon. He will board a Singapore Airlines flight for Washington DC, the United States, at 18:30 p.m. local time.
He is going to have a medical check-up at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the United States.
Wahid was succeeded by his deputy, Megawati Soekarnoputri, after he was ousted by a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly last Monday. Wahid insisted that the special session was illegal.
The special session was scheduled to be held on August 1 but the Assembly decided to convene it immediately after Wahid issued a presidential decree declaring a state of emergency and dissolving the Assembly and the House of Representatives.
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