ABRI calls on PDI members to end dispute

ABRI calls on PDI members to end dispute

JAKARTA (JP): An end to the struggle for control over the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)'s East Java branch must come
from the party's rank and files in the province and not the
Central Executive Board, a senior Armed Forces (ABRI) officer
said yesterday.

ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid
said that to break the current impasse the branch leaders in East
Java should hold an extraordinary congress and elect their new
leader.

Syarwan stressed that the row is essentially an internal
affair but that ABRI would guarantee the security of the meeting
should the party's leaders hold a congress.

Two rival camps have been vying for control of the party's
leadership in East Java, where the party has found much support
in past general elections.

Groups

One group, led by Sutjipto, has the support of the party's
Central Executive Board chaired by Megawati Soekarnoputri in
Jakarta. The other is led by Latief Pudjosakti, a staunch critic
of Megawati and, until 1994, the chairman of the chapter.

The East Java administration recognizes neither of the two
leaders and has left vacant the PDI's seat on the provincial
election committee, which was set up in January for next year's
poll.

Syarwan, who held his first meeting with journalists following
his recent promotion to the post, defended the stand taken by
East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman.

He admitted, however, that the Golkar chapter in East Java, to
which Basofi belongs, is ultimately benefiting from the prolonged
PDI conflict.

The governor has been criticized by some PDI leaders in
Jakarta for allowing Latief to continue undermining the party's
leadership in Jakarta.

Syarwan said ABRI believes that both Sutjipto and Latief have
valid claims to the chairmanship because one has the support of
the party leaders in Jakarta and the other was elected during the
last congress in 1994.

He said the only solution is for the party to hold a new
congress and elect the leaders.

The 1994 regional congress was marred with allegations of
cheating, but the electoral college later appointed Latief to the
post. His election was not recognized by the party's leaders in
Jakarta who then appointed Sutjipto.

Syarwan noted that the PDI's own statutes stress that the
chapter chair must be elected by the party's leaders in the
province. The central executive board only "endorses" the result.
(rms)