PDI's troubles in East Java continue<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): First, chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri was
\nbarred from addressing a gathering, and now the East Java chapter
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is banned from holding a
\ngathering to appoint its leaders. The minority party's troubles
\nwith the authorities continue in East Java.<\/p>\n
The East Java provincial authorities yesterday warned that any
\nmeeting the party holds in Surabaya today to install Sutjipto as
\nthe chairman of its East Java chapter would be considered
\nillegal.<\/p>\n
The head of the East Java Socio-Political Office, Soeryadi
\nSetiawan, was in Jakarta yesterday to consult with the Ministry
\nof Home Affairs on matters concerning an announcement that the
\nPDI is planning to hold an inauguration ceremony in Surabaya
\ntoday, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
After the meeting, Soeryadi said the inauguration could not
\nproceed because Sutjipto's election was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
He said no application had been received from PDI to hold the
\ngathering, but the East Java provincial government would not
\nissue one even if an application was forwarded.<\/p>\n
Soeryadi stressed that as far as the government was concerned,
\nthe leadership of PDI in East Java is still in the hands of
\nLatief Pudjosakti because the provincial congress duly reelected
\nhim.<\/p>\n
A letter issued by PDI's Central Executive Board to override
\nthe election result was unconstitutional, he added.<\/p>\n
Latief has opposed the leadership of Megawati since her
\nappointment to the top PDI post in 1992. Megawati's attempt to
\nunseat him, however, has failed as Latief apparently has the
\nsupport of local authorities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Police yesterday defended the decision
\nby their precinct in Kediri, East Java, to bar Megawati from
\naddressing a PDI gathering last month, \"for security reasons.\"<\/p>\n
\"The local police reported that the condition was too risky to
\nallow the gathering to proceed because many people from out of
\ntown were also coming,\" Brig. Gen. I Ketut Ratta, the chief
\nspokesman of the National Police, said yesterday. \"The organizers
\nnever informed the police that people from out of town were
\ncoming too,\" Ratta told reporters.<\/p>\n
Given the still intense conflict within PDI in East Java, the
\nKediri police decided that allowing the gathering to go ahead
\ncould pose a security risk, he said.<\/p>\n
Ratta firmly denied the suggestion that there was a concerted
\neffort to obstruct Megawati from addressing her supporters in
\nKediri. \"It was simply a matter of a permit. That's all.\"<\/p>\n
He defended the decision by the Kediri police chief to ask
\nMegawati not to address the gathering. \"It was not an over-
\nreaction on his part.\"<\/p>\n
Megawati is currently in Mecca to perform the haj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Megawati's staunchest opponent, Yusuf Merukh, on
\nMonday installed the leadership of the local \"rival\" chapter in
\nYogyakarta in another campaign to undermine her leadership.<\/p>\n
Yusuf, who has formed his own executive board and named
\nhimself its chairman, has been courting senior PDI leaders in
\nYogyakarta, including 65-year old T.A.S. Sumitro, who was
\nappointed as chapter chairman.<\/p>\n
The ceremony to install Sumitro was quietly switched to Aquila
\nHotel in Yogyakarta from Wisma Kaliurang because some 50 police
\nofficers had been guarding the Kaliurang site, ready to break up
\nthe meeting that had no permit.<\/p>\n
\"Yogyakarta is the heart of PDI,\" Yusuf proclaimed,
\nunderlining that the constituency is one of the party's main
\nsupport bases. \"And we've made a breakthrough here.\"<\/p>\n
Sumitro himself said he no longer recognized the leadership of
\nMegawati because, under her, the party had been infiltrated by
\nformer members of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party.
\n(emb\/02)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdis-troubles-in-east-java-continue-1447893297",
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