PDI rival board denied permit to convene<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): A local home affairs official says he will not
\ngrant permission for the rival board of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty to convene an extraordinary chairman election here later
\nthis week.<\/p>\n
Head of the home affairs ministry's West Java bureau for
\nsociopolitical affairs, Edi Mulyono, said on Monday that as the
\nlocal \"patron of political development\", he would adhere to the
\nfact that the board is not officially recognized.<\/p>\n
\"I wish the party was able to solve its internal disputes
\nthrough negotiation among its own members,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said his office has not yet received official reports or
\napplication for permits for the holding of the extraordinary
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
\"Even if there are agencies which have granted permission for
\nthe rival board to hold the meeting, I won't let them proceed,\"
\nhe vowed.<\/p>\n
Clara Sitompul Tambunan, an activist of PDI who recently said
\nshe would organize the extraordinary congress, said permission
\nfrom the government is not necessary.<\/p>\n
She claimed that in a recent meeting, Minister of Home Affairs
\nMoch. Yogie S.M. said that every cadre of any political party has
\nthe right to hold congresses.<\/p>\n
\"The only thing we need to do is inform the National Police
\nchief of our plan,\" she said. \"You'll see, this extraordinary
\ncongress will take place here.\"<\/p>\n
The nationalist-Christian alliance party is being dogged by
\nvarious conflicts, both internally and externally.<\/p>\n
Clara, who helped found the rival board last year under self-
\nappointed chairman Jusuf Merukh, said she will organize the
\nextraordinary congress on May 24 to May 26 to establish the
\nboard's full lineup.<\/p>\n
She said that 270 of the party's 305 branches across the
\ncountry have expressed readiness to attend the congress. She told
\nThe Jakarta Post recently, however, that the committee does not
\naffiliate itself with either Jusuf's board or that of Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, the officially recognized party chief.<\/p>\n
\"This committee is independent, and its only goal is to steer
\nthe party back to a line in accordance with the law,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She also denied links with the organizer of the foiled meeting
\nof Jusuf's camp earlier this month in Cibubur, West Java.<\/p>\n
Jusuf's board on May 1st gathered some 190 supporters from
\nvarious regions for a meeting as a prelude to an extraordinary
\ncongress to replace Megawati's board. Later on, some 200 members
\nwho support Megawati invaded the venue.<\/p>\n
The two opposing camps then became involved in a brawl, which
\nleft a number of people slightly injured. The two camps were
\neventually separated, following the intervention of hundreds of
\nEast Jakarta police.<\/p>\n
Clara said in January the board led by Megawati Soekarnoputri,
\nelected in the December 1993 congress, failed to hold the
\nrequisite convention to appoint the party's regional leaders
\nthree months after the 1993 congress as promised.<\/p>\n
\"According to the organization's regulations, her leadership
\nboard is not valid,\" Clara said. She admitted, however, that her
\nboard also failed to meet the criteria.<\/p>\n
\"There are two boards, and neither is legal,\" she said to
\nexplain why her board is holding the congress. (17\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-rival-board-denied-permit-to-convene-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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