East Java PDI conflict, a ticking time bomb

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.