Armed Forces cares for PDI, Gen. Feisal declares

By M.M.I. Ahyani

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said yesterday that the concern shown by the military to the condition of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) should not be seen as meddling in its internal affairs.

"ABRI supports every constitutional effort to conserve the image, integrity and cohesion of the party against the polarization away from Pancasila democracy," Feisal said in addressing a congress of PDI whose legality is questioned by the party chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri and her supporters.

"If ABRI is concerned about the fate of its fellow-in-arms, it doesn't mean that ABRI is meddling in its internal affairs.

"It simply reflects that ABRI cares about the efforts to combine the nation's potentials and strengths, to forge common vision and action in facing problems that are counter-productive to national stability, democracy and national unity," he said.

The congress is organized by 16 members of the PDI Central Executive Board which broke away from Megawati. The splinter group, headed by Fatimah Achmad, Megawati's deputy, claims to have the mandate of most of the party's branches.

The event has the strong support of the government and the military, a move that exposed the authorities to criticisms of meddling in the party's internal affairs.

A tight security cordon has been imposed around the Pangkalan Masyhur Haj Dormitory, the venue of the congress.

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. opened the congress. Also present at the opening session were ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, North Sumatra Governor Raja Inal Siregar, Bukit Barisan Regional Command Chief Maj. Gen. Sedarjanto and North Sumatra Police Chief Brig. Gen. H.M. Nurdin.

Yogie in his keynote address said the congress was the most appropriate forum to break the impasse of the party's endless bickering. "I make this evaluation without ignoring the crux of the problem that this organization is facing," he said.

PDI has failed to resolve the conflicts that have existed since its National Meeting in 1993, Yogie said, referring to the event that saw the election of Megawati to the helm.

"Another modus should be tried to resolve this. The government had expected to see deliberation between the conflicting parties to reach a consensus. But it seems that this suggestion had not been widely accepted," he said to a laud applause from the floor.

Megawati has denounced the congress as unconstitutional and is staying put in Jakarta. She has also dismissed all the 16 central board members for rebelling against the party.

Yogie said the government will not interfere on the question of the PDI's leadership because this is one issue which the party should decide independently.

Congress organizers said that while it is not the original intention of the gathering to oust Megawati, the participants could demand a new line up of the central board.

Soerjadi, who led the party between 1986 and 1993, appeared to be the only candidate. Currently holding the post as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Soejardi was present at the opening session.

Gen. Feisal in his speech reminded the PDI that the 1997 general election is fast approaching.

He described the election as "very strategic for the future of the nation" and therefore the party, as a participant, should meet its responsibility.

Fatimah Achmad in her report to the congress said that 283 of the PDI's 310 branches from all 27 provinces are represented in the congress. Stressing that the quorum is fulfilled, she declared: "This congress is legal."

She said that she and her colleagues were motivated by the failure of the central board to implement the results of the 1993 National Meeting and to rectify some of the moves the party has taken that have deviated from the party's objectives.

Ismunandar, the secretary of the congress, said the congress intends to reiterate and implement the party's four-point manifesto drawn up in 1993.

The four are: to maintain the spirit of the New Order, to support ABRI's dual-function (in defense and politics), to unite with other forces in the country under the leadership of President Soeharto and to fight for a just and prosperous society.