Budi Hardjono elected PDI chairman

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)