Armed Forces cares for PDI, Gen. Feisal declares

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.