Budi Hardjono elected PDI chairman
PALU, Central Sulawesi (JP): The splintered Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) accelerated its tense congress and elected Budi Hardjono as its new chairman yesterday evening, ignoring some delegates' attempts to bring peace to the party by nominating popular ousted leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Budi won 164 votes and deputy secretary-general R. Soedarjanto won 101 votes, with three abstentions.
"We will consider all reconciliatory efforts with Megawati," a cheerful Budi said shortly after his triumph.
Megawati was among those listed in the preliminary voting, but she obtained only nine votes, while two other nominees, Dimmy Haryanto and Harsoko Sudiro, won four and two votes respectively. The second and final vote saw the list shortened to only Budi and Soedarjanto.
Earlier in the afternoon, West Kalimantan and East Timor delegates walked out of the congress accusing the government of rigging the whole affair.
"We want to elect Megawati to the party chair, but the organizers said prospective candidates must be here at the congress," said Gabriel da Costa, one of 32 delegates from East Timor.
At least 14 provincial chapters reportedly nominated Megawati as their candidate early yesterday. A commission in charge of organizational matters in the congress then hastily drafted stipulations that nominees had to have the support of 50 branches attending the congress, had to approve their nomination, and had to abide by the statutes of the previous 1996 congress in Medan, North Sumatra.
Megawati was not present at the congress yesterday and she does not recognize the Medan congress because it was the mechanism by which she was ousted from the party leadership by her rival, Soerjadi. It was Soerjadi's camp that organized the Palu congress. Megawati has said she plans to hold her own congress in October in either Bali or Yogyakarta.
Yesterday tensions remained high around the Haj Dormitory where the congress is being held, with hundreds of helmeted riot police officers armed with rattan sticks, plastic shields and tear-gas canister launchers standing guard.
Security personnel sealed off nearby streets in order to prevent thousands of Megawati supporters from approaching the area.
Wirabuana Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen Suaidi Marasabessy said 10 PDI supporters and six members of the security forces were injured during a clash involving both factions in the party, although a later report suggested 17 people had been injured. No arrests were made.
Separately, about 100 people calling themselves the Palu Savior Movement staged a demonstration at the governor's office, demanding that the congress be closed. They also demanded that Governor H.B. Paliudju be held responsible for allowing the congress to take place in the first place.
It was widely believed that the congress, scheduled for five days, would be cut short because of violent clashes on Tuesday, when the congress opened.
"I've heard that the congress will be completed (today)," Suaidi said yesterday.
Rejection
Separately in Surabaya, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid criticized Megawati for rejecting conciliatory moves made by some delegates attending the congress.
"According to my latest information, some provincial branches officially asked Megawati if she was ready to stand for the party leadership, but she instantly dismissed the notion. So what else can I do? I can only regret it," Syarwan said after swearing in Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo as Governor of East Java. He replaced Basofi Sudirman.
Syarwan noted the government had approached Megawati in the past and suggested that she use the congress as an opportunity for reconciliation with Soerjadi's camp.
"If possible, we hope the internal conflict will be overcome before the general election next year," the minister added.
In Semarang, Central Java, Megawati supporters threatened to take all necessary measures to punish Soerjadi's supporters for obstinately going ahead with the congress.
"If they still refuse to disband, we will let our people decide their fate," one supporter, Mardijo, said. (byg/nur/har/30)