Activists must unite: Megawati

Activists must unite: Megawati

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) Megawati Sukarnoputri said yesterday that Indonesian
prodemocracy advocates lacked solidarity.

Indonesian prodemocracy groups were busy minding their own
business rather than joining forces to achieve a common goal, she
said in a seminar.

She said prodemocracy activists were like people living in
different chambers of a glasshouse where outsiders could clearly
see everything that they did.

"Inside, we can only see each other but do not address each
other," Megawati told the seminar on Development in the
Perspective of Indonesian Pluralism held by Gadjah Mada
University student activists.

Megawati, who lost the PDI leadership in a government-
sanctioned congress last year, said she was ready to meet with
other prodemocracy activists.

Another speaker, Didin Damanhuri, a political analyst from the
Center for Information and Development Studies, said that
Indonesia needed of a coalition of "clean" leaders to promote
democracy.

"I think it is high time for us to think of such a coalition,"
he said. The term "clean coalition" was first raised by Amien
Rais of Gadjah Mada University.

Didin said the country needed open political communication
between the government and the public, especially between
community leaders.

Another speaker, Revrisond Baswir, said that meetings should
be held involving prominent figures, such as Megawati, Amien,
Golkar deputy chairman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and Abdurrahman
Wahid -- who chairs the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem
organization -- to exchange ideas on how to promote democracy.
(23/aan)