East Java PDI conflict, a ticking time bomb

By Ainur R. Sophiaan

SURABAYA (JP): The capital city of Jakarta has recently seen the worst manifestation of the political conflict within the minority Indonesian Democratic Party.

The party chapter in East Java seems to be heading in the same direction, unless something is done to solve the conflict that has been plaguing it for the past two years. To put the problem in a nutshell -- it has two leaders. Sutjipto is backed by the deposed PDI chief, Megawati Soekarnoputri, but East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman reportedly never wanted him at the helm.

The other is Latief Pudjosakti, a self-styled leader who has reportedly been enjoying the support of Basofi. The new party chairman, Soerjadi, however, can't stand Latief who helped topple him in the 1993 congress which elected Megawati. Soerjadi, who was once branded by the government as "legally defective", now denounces Latief as "politically defective."

After the government-backed rebel congress in the North Sumatran capital of Medan in June, the East Java chapter has been split further.

Members are polarized over who to pledge their loyalty to, and the chapter is now reportedly led by a third figure, Dimmy Haryanto -- whom Basofi does not want either. Dimmy is a temporary official directly appointed by Soerjadi, not without opposition by some groups. He is expected to find a solution to the conflict.

How to solve the chapter leadership conflict -- this is obviously not an easy question to answer. Governor Basofi Soedirman, who has been playing a big part in the long drawn-out conflict, was unable to.

"The settlement of the conflict depends entirely on the internal setup of the East Java chapter. Don't make me the scapegoat," he said in an oft-quoted response when asked about the chapter conflict.

Political observer Ramlan Surbakti of Airlangga University describes the affair as follows: "Soeryadi did not want a candidate from the Latief or Sutjipto camp to unite the PDI. But it is not going to be an easy choice, since Soeryadi himself is not regarded as flawless by the PDI majority," said Ramlan Surbakti.

However, "It doesn't matter who leads the East Java PDI chapter, they'd all fail if they cannot come close to grassroots. This group is known to be on the side of Sutjipto, because he was appointed by Megawati."

"The solution to the conflict depends on how the conflict at the top is solved. Though not quite the same, the conflict in East Java is a microcosm of the central executive board's conflict," said Ramlan.

Worse

Basofi, who the government sees as the "patron of political development" in the province, has yet to agree with Dimmy. He voiced his objection in a closed meeting of the "conflict settlement team" -- comprised of 5 members of the organization and the governor -- early last month.

Basofi suggested that the chapter hold a repeat conference, on the condition that it result in the election of Latief. "I'd agree to another conference of branches, as long as the chapter is chaired by Latief Pudjosakti," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

Even the idea of holding a conference to elect a new party chairman was only tentative. Basofi admitted that "the plan is not yet firm."

Last week, 24 branches of PDI held a meeting and pledged allegiance to Latief. The activists then demanded that Soerjadi, as the new party chairman, immediately legalize the formation of a new chapter board.

"This is what we all want, in order to solidify the chapter and consolidate members," said Trimono Wahyu Sutomo, spokesman at the meeting and Latief's secretary.

The 24 branches also agreed to a conference, provided members present at the Medan congress were invited. This particular condition, however, is not easy to meet because those members are actually activists who did not even have the right to represent the chapter at the Medan congress -- something which Sutjipto's camp would surely fight.

Sutjipto had reportedly consolidated 25 branches who have been organizing demonstrations and free-speech forum in support of Megawati. Sutjipto and his men claim they are now preparing to contest the general elections next year.

Insistence

Ramlan ventured that Basofi had insisted that Latief be appointed chairman because the man was "easily led".

"Basofi's choice of Latief is quite understandable, Latief's loyalty has been thoroughly tested by Basofi. Do you know of any independent people that the authorities favor?" asked Ramlan.

There has also been speculation that Latief's supporters might jump ship and join the Sutjipto camp, which is already large, should the latter be shoved aside by Basofi. A lesson should have been learned from how grassroots support for Megawati grew after she was ousted in the government-backed rebel congress.

"Now that would be quite a handful for the provincial government to solve," Ramlan said. "This East Java chapter problem won't be easy to solve because people, even at the grassroots level, are more critical now. They won't just keep quiet."

Ramlan believed that if Megawati and Soerjadi agreed to reconcile -- which seems unlikely at the moment -- then the East Java chapter problem might go away. Another scenario some people believe likely is that the government will again intervene and force an end to the conflict.