PDI chief request for congress<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the minority Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri yesterday refused to bow to
\nmounting pressure from dissenting members to hold a fresh
\nelection for party chairman.<\/p>\n
"The proposal for a congress was unlawful," Megawati said in a
\nwritten statement read out to journalists by one of her deputies,
\nSoetardjo Soerjogoeritno.<\/p>\n
Other party executives, who accompanied Soetardjo to the party
\nheadquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, showing their
\nsupport for Megawati, included secretary-general Alexander Litaay
\nand the chief of the research and development department, Kwik
\nKian Gie. Megawati herself was not present during the reading of
\nthe statement.<\/p>\n
The call for a congress -- raised by 16 provincial chapters
\nand 141 branches -- did not meet the party's statutes because it
\nwas not made by branch and chapter leaders, according to party
\nexecutive Sulistyo.<\/p>\n
A group of activists claiming to represent 21 of the 27
\nprovincial chapters and 215 of PDI's 305 branches requested
\ngovernment permission to hold the congress and election for party
\nchairman.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Home Affairs and high-ranking military
\nofficials -- including Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung
\n-- gave qualified support for the call, with most of them saying
\nthat a congress is permitted "as long as it's in accordance with
\nthe party's statutes".<\/p>\n
A group of party executives led by Fatimah Achmad, chief of
\nPDI's faction at the House of Representatives and one of
\nMegawati's deputies, moved quickly and yesterday established an
\norganizing committee for the congress.<\/p>\n
Fatimah, known to be an ally of former chairman Soerjadi, who
\nwas defeated by Megawati in 1993, said her group would hold the
\ncongress before the end of the month and that Megawati should
\ndefend her leadership then.<\/p>\n
Megawati maintained that her leadership is valid, as it
\ncomplies with the party statutes.<\/p>\n
The government had previously stated that it recognized
\nMegawati as the rightful leader of the party.<\/p>\n
Megawati won the majority of votes of the party's regional
\nbranches in a disputed extraordinary congress in Surabaya, East
\nJava, in December 1993. The result was legalized in a national
\n"deliberation" meeting in January 1994.<\/p>\n
The dissenters are scheduled today to meet with Minister of
\nHome Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. and Armed Forces Chief for
\nSociopolitics Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid to report on the planned
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
\nSoesilo Soedarman said yesterday that the government has clearly
\ngiven its stance on the matter through the home affairs
\nministry's Director General of Sociopolitics, Sutoyo N.K.<\/p>\n
Sutoyo told the press on Monday that the government approved
\nthe request for permission to convene a congress, because it was
\nmade by the majority of the party's members.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, East Java, at least 200 PDI cadres pledged their
\nloyalty to Megawati and signed their names in blood drawn from
\ntheir needle-pricked thumbs.<\/p>\n
They said they would support and protect Megawati's leadership
\nfrom any efforts to topple her. "We are ready to secure
\nMegawati's leadership till the last drop of our blood," said
\nAndy, one of the cadres.<\/p>\n
Feisal yesterday pointed out that the party has not been able
\nto carry out its programs due to leadership wrangling.<\/p>\n
Separately, Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid said that there are grounds
\nfor demands to hold the congress, and that the Armed Forces are
\nready to provide maximum security if the congress did take place.<\/p>\n
Commander of the Jakarta Military Command Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso
\nsaid yesterday that the Jakarta garrison would be ready to secure
\nthe congress, should it take place in Jakarta. (imn\/jun\/15)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-chief-request-for-congress-1447893297",
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