Experts defend PRD's manifesto in court

JAKARTA (JP): Political analyst Deliar Noer and philosopher Franz-Magnis Suseno said in court yesterday that the political manifesto of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) did not contradict the state ideology Pancasila.

Deliar and Magnis Suseno were testifying for PRD leader Budiman Sudjatmiko, who is being tried in the Central Jakarta District Court for subversion.

The two men said "social democratic populism", the PRD's main ideological principle, was consistent with Pancasila.

"The principle emphasizes some of the five principles in Pancasila. To stress some points does not amount to attempting to try to replace the ideology," Magnis Suseno said.

PRD's failure to name Pancasila as its sole ideology did not mean that it opposed the state ideology, he said.

"What is important is the content," said Magnis Suseno, the rector of Driyarkara's School of Philosophy.

Government prosecutors have accused Budiman and other PRD activists of manipulating Pancasila by their failure to name the state ideology as their sole ideology as all mass organizations are required to do by a 1985 law.

The PRD activists are also being charged with organizing a series of labor protests and political demonstrations against five political laws and the military's role in politics.

Senior military officers have accused the PRD of having leftist tendencies.

Magnis Suseno told the court yesterday that he did not see a Marxist-Communist tendency in the PRD's constitution, and pointed out that the organization had opposed the Marxist endorsement of a single-party concept.

"Not one communist country accepts a multiparty concept," he said.

He said he could not find any major Marxist elements in the PRD's constitution. Marxism calls for social improvement through a workers' revolution, with workers struggling through the Marxist party.

Magnis Suseno dismissed the prosecution's claim that the PRD had undermined the government. "To undermine requires an action that prevents the government from carrying out its functions."

Deliar Noer, a professor of political science, said the term "populism" in PRD's constitution was a reconfirmation of the word "democracy", the fourth principle in Pancasila.

"Pancasila is open for interpretation," said the Cornell University doctor of political science.

PRD members had interpreted the state ideology because they saw injustice in Indonesian politics and then sought alternatives, he said.

Deliar said the 1985 law on political parties did not specifically forbid the establishment of new parties outside the three that were recognized by law.

"Establishing a political party is not a problem. What is important is whether or not its actions and programs are in accordance with the law," he said.

He said there was a growing demand for new political parties because people needed alternatives.

The 1985 law recognizes Golkar, the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party as the only political organizations allowed to contest general elections. (05)