Congress to demote Megawati

Congress to demote Megawati

By M.M.I. Ahyani

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Participants at the government-
sponsored congress of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
yesterday pondered what role to assign to Megawati Soekarnoputri,
the party chief they intend to oust.

Many participants, including some senior party leaders, say
Megawati's services should be reduced but not dispensed with
altogether.

Soerjadi, who is almost certain to regain the party's number
one slot which he lost to Megawati in 1993, and Fatmawati Achmad,
the chief organizer of the congress, both suggested a seat on the
party's Advisory Board for Megawati.

Megawati has denounced the congress as illegal, and fired
Fatimah and 15 other central board members for organizing the
event.

Fatimah and her breakaway group have claimed that they had the
mandate of the party's regional branches to proceed with the
assembly. Some 283 of PDI's 308 branches are taking part in the
congress, which is supported, and partly financed, by the
government and the military.

The congress yesterday appointed Soerjadi to head the seven-
person team of "formatters", who will select the new line up of
the party's central executive board.

Soerjadi's return to the helm is almost certain given that
virtually all the branches said on Thursday that they wanted him
to lead the party. As head of the team, he is also expected to
name himself as the new party chief.

The team's selection, along with the party's program and
manifesto, will be endorsed by the congress before it closes
today.

The other six formatters are Buttu Hutapea (North Sumatra),
Lukman F. Mokoginta (Jakarta), H.R.M. Sumario (Central Java),
Massardi Kaphaat (West Kalimantan), Milson Buyung (North
Sulawesi) and Antony Rafael (Irian Jaya).

Congress sources said Sumario, Hutapea, Antony and Lukman were
strong candidates for the secretary-generalship, regarded as the
second most powerful position in the party. It is currently held
by Alexander Litaay, a Megawati loyalist.

Fatimah and the other 15 executives who broke away from
Megawati are expected to be retained on the new board.

The calls to give Megawati the seat as chief of the party's
advisory board were made by the Central Java and East Timor
chapters when they presented their views on Thursday.

Commenting on this, Soerjadi told The Jakarta Post after
Friday's prayers that in principle, he was prepared to work with
anyone as long as he or she abided by the party's rules.

It was Soerjadi, who led the party between 1986 and 1993, who
recruited Megawati, the daughter of former president Sukarno,
into the party. The move helped bolster PDI's standing in
subsequent general elections.

Fatimah, who was deputy chief on Megawati's board, said she
would be happy if Megawati accepted the offer to serve in the new
leadership line up.

She even promised to go personally and ask Megawati to join.

"That's how it should be. There are times when you go up, and
times you go down. As a good cadre, I'm sure Mbak Mega (sister
Megawati) will not object to serving in any capacity in the
party," she told reporters. "Of course we need to accommodate
her, although it would have to be outside the executive board."

Another issue widely debated at the congress was the failure
of Megawati's board to control legislator Aberson Marle Sihaloho
who has continually attacked the dual function of the Armed
Forces (ABRI).

Many branch leaders said Aberson's stance was not part of the
party's official line, which supports ABRI's role in politics as
well as in the traditional role of defense.

Soerjadi, who is currently the deputy speaker in the House of
Representatives, said he had repeatedly warned Aberson about his
behavior, but the latter simply ignored the warnings.

Security remained tight in the Pangkalan Masyhur Haj
Dormitory, the venue of the congress.

The only incident of note was when a reporter from Persda, a
Jakarta-based news agency serving provincial newspapers, was
asked to surrender his press accreditation card by the organizers
after being warned that his safety could not be guaranteed.

"They told me that my questions were too critical. The
organizers felt that some of the participants might be prompted
to attack me," the reporter, Mulawarman, told colleagues before
heading back to Jakarta.

Photo on Page 2