Adi Sasono dismissed from Golkar<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A plenary meeting of Golkar on Sunday dismissed
\nMinister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono from
\nthe party for his alleged involvement in the People's Sovereignty
\nParty (PDR).<\/p>\n
He was deemed to have neglected his duties as Golkar's
\ncoordinator in Central Java and as its cooperatives and small
\nenterprises chief, Antara quoted party leader Akbar Tandjung as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
Akbar said Slamet Effendi Yusuf was named the party's new
\ncoordinator in the province and manpower minister Fahmi Idris the
\nnew cooperatives and small enterprises coordinator.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged the main reason behind Adi's dismissal was his
\ninvolvement in PDR's founding earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\"When I was visiting the regions, I received reports that Adi
\nhas been turning to PDR,\" Akbar said.<\/p>\n
PDR is widely associated with Adi, who has denied any formal
\nlink despite one-page party advertisements carrying his picture
\nand identifying him as the party's prospective president.<\/p>\n
The Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a non-governmental network,
\nhas accused PDR and the ruling Golkar of misusing a US$800
\nmillion poverty alleviation program for their election campaigns.<\/p>\n
In the North Sumatra capital of Medan, chairman of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) Hamzah Haz said on Saturday that he would
\nresign if the party failed to win 20 percent of the vote in the
\nJune elections.<\/p>\n
\"I realize that reaching that target is difficult, but we are
\noptimistic since the party is still trusted by supporters in
\nurban and rural areas,\" Hamzah told about 10,000 supporters.<\/p>\n
Medan was a ghost town on Sunday due to the absence of street
\nrallies. All parties contesting the polls agreed to take a break
\nin observance of Buddha's Day of Enlightenment. Most cities
\nacross the country also were free of noisy truckloads and
\nmotorcycle riders of party supporters.<\/p>\n
Exceptions were Bandung in West Java and Ambon in Maluku,
\nwhere supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI Perjuangan) defied the holiday agreement.<\/p>\n
The chairman of Medan's Justice Party chapter, Sigit Purnomo
\nAsri, questioned the parties' commitment to the rules on
\nobservance of the holiday.<\/p>\n
\"Probably (today) they are just regrouping and consolidating
\nsupporters for the rest of the campaign season,\" Sigit said.<\/p>\n
In Kendal, Central Java, Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid of
\nthe National Awakening Party (PKB) pledged on Sunday to redress
\nthe fiscal imbalance between regional and central governments.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, told tens of
\nthousands that if the party won it would authorize local
\ngovernments to manage 75 percent of their revenues.<\/p>\n
The central government has been accused of plundering natural
\nresources in the regions while giving little in return during the
\n32-year-rule of Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman is scheduled to visit South Sulawesi's capital of
\nUjungpandang, the riot-torn Maluku capital of Ambon and the North
\nSulawesi capital of Manado during the final days of the
\ncampaigning period, which officially ends on June 4.<\/p>\n
On Saturday Kendal was host to a huge rally of PDI Perjuangan.
\nThe event featured chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri's youngest
\nbrother Guruh Soekarnoputra.<\/p>\n
In the Central Java town of Blora, two PDI Perjuangan
\nsupporters were killed in a traffic accident on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, one man died and 12 more were injured
\nafter an truck hit them on their way to a PDR campaign in Jenar
\nnear the Central Java town of Sragen.<\/p>\n
More violence targeted the ruling Golkar Party in Cilacap,
\nalso in Central Java, on Saturday while its campaign ran without
\nreported disturbance in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A group of 100 people clad in PDI Perjuangan T-shirts pelted
\nstones at the podium of the campaign venue in Majenang district.<\/p>\n
It was reportedly triggered after a Golkar campaigner told
\nsupporters not to fear \"terrorists,\" hinting at supporters of a
\nnumber of other parties which have harassed and assaulted
\nparticipants in Golkar campaigns. No arrests were made.<\/p>\n
Former vice president Try Sutrisno of the Justice and Unity
\nParty arrived in Ambon on Saturday for a two-day visit.<\/p>\n
In East Lombok, the National Mandate Party's presidential
\nhopeful Amien Rais told his supporters that a victory for the
\nparty would lead to the return of thousands of hectares of land
\nallegedly seized illegally by the New Order government from the
\npeople. (29\/39\/45\/48\/byg\/har\/jun\/ind)<\/p>",
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