Megawati and Soerjadi should prove popularity<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The two rival leaders of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) were challenged yesterday to prove who has
\nstronger popular support.<\/p>\n
Deputy governor of the National Resilience Institute Juwono
\nSudarsono and observer Novel Ali separately suggested that
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri and Soerjadi seek legitimacy from the
\ngrassroots level.<\/p>\n
Megawati was elected by popular vote in 1993. Soerjadi was
\nelected PDI chief in a recent government-backed rival congress.
\nBoth claim to be the legitimate PDI leader.<\/p>\n
Juwono suggested that PDI and the government let party members
\nchoose who will become their leader, Soerjadi or Megawati.<\/p>\n
He said the best way to end the rift would be if Megawati and
\nSoerjadi reconcile and consolidate the party's leadership.<\/p>\n
\"The reconciliation should materialize by the end of this
\nmonth, before the party runs out of time to submit names for
\ntheir representatives in the House of Representatives,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Novel Ali proposed that Megawati and Soerjadi hold
\na showdown in an extraordinary congress, where they can prove who
\nhas the greater popular support.<\/p>\n
Novel, a political observer from Semarang's Diponegoro
\nUniversity, said at a seminar that the congress would be a good
\nchance for Megawati to prove she has the strong grassroots
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
Novel suggested that Soerjadi, who was elected PDI chief at
\nthe June 20-22 government-backed rebel congress, should be
\ninvolved in the proposed extraordinary parley so the interests of
\nall rival camps could be accommodated.<\/p>\n
\"Megawati should not bother over whether the government would
\nissue a permit for the gathering, because she has the
\nconstitutional right to hold it,\" he said at the seminar held at
\nTidar Sakti University in Magelang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi should also support the idea for the sake of PDI's
\nintegrity, he said. So far, both Megawati and Soerjadi have rigid
\ninterpretations of the party's statutes, each claiming to be
\nright.<\/p>\n
Megawati has no reason to reject an extraordinary congress, as
\nshe has popular support. Soerjadi has the government and
\nmilitary's backing, and has been widely applauded for his success
\nin increasing PDI's seats in the House of Representatives from 40
\nin the 1987 general election to 56 in 1992, Novel argued.<\/p>\n
Arbi Sanit, a political scholar from the University of
\nIndonesia, said that PDI activists are being set against each
\nother and the party's dignity has been insulted.<\/p>\n
\"PDI activists have the right to stand up and defend their
\ndignity,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Arbi, an activist of the controversial Independent Election
\nMonitoring Committee, warned that the government's meddling in
\nPDI's internal affairs will worsen public resentment.<\/p>\n
\"If the current political crisis plaguing the PDI is not
\nresolved, it will undermine the nation's political stability and
\nadversely affect political development in general,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, has got what it wants: splitting the
\nPDI to weaken it in the lead-up to next year's general election
\nby withdrawing its recognition of Megawati and putting Soerjadi
\n-- her arch rival -- at the forefront.<\/p>\n
Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who recently founded his own opposition
\nIndonesian Democratic Union Party, said he is optimistic that
\nMegawati will be able to maintain her leadership until her term
\nof office ends in 1993.<\/p>\n
\"The moral behind the current PDI crisis is that we should not
\neasily trust anyone,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, pro-democracy lawyers Amartiwi Saleh and R.O.
\nTambunan demanded yesterday that President Soeharto take action
\nagainst government officials who meddled in PDI's internal
\naffairs.<\/p>\n
\"Their action threatens the nation's unity,\" they said in
\na letter, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
They said the rebel congress has been deepening the rift
\nwithin the PDI instead of resolving it, as the officials
\ninitially intended. (pan\/har\/imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-and-soerjadi-should-prove-popularity-1447893297",
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