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Moslem groups to form political parties

Source
Reuters - July 20, 1998 (abridged)

Jakarta – Indonesia's two largest Moslem groups have said they will form political parties to contest next year's general elections, newspapers reported on Monday.

Republika daily quoted Moslem leader Amien Rais, one of those in the forefront of the movement leading to the ouster of President Suharto in May, as saying he would set up a political party soon.

"The party will be called Partai Amanah Bangsa or National Mandate Party. The name refers to Indonesia's independence, a mandate of the people that needs to be defended," Rais was quoted as saying at a Moslem school in the East Java town of Ponorogo. "The party would become a legitimate political platform to meet my total commitment to Indonesia's political process."

Rais heads the Muhammadiyah organisation, Indonesia's second largest Moslem group, which claims the support of 28 million people. Indonesia's largest Moslem group, Nadlatul Ulama (NU), said on Thursday that it would set up a political party to contest future general elections.

"We will make a declaration on July 23rd on the setting up of a political party to contest the coming general elections," the group's executive board chief Musthafa Zuhad Mughni told Reuters. The party will be called Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa, or the National Awakening Party, Republika reported on Monday.

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