Golkar moves to settle Irian debacle
JAKARTA (JP): Golkar's central board of executives has sent a team to Irian Jaya to settle a dispute over the chairmanship of the province's legislative body.
Golkar Chairman Harmoko said yesterday that the team, led by Secretary-General Ary Mardjono, would consult with the leaders of Golkar's office in Irian Jaya and the province's elected councilors.
The team, which left for Jayapura on Wednesday evening, included Golkar Deputy Chairman Moechtar who is the party's regional coordinator for Irian Jaya and Maluku.
"There are several things which need coordinating and consulting with the local councilors and our branch office there," Harmoko said after attending a limited ministerial meeting on political affairs and security.
Harmoko, also the State Minister for Special Assignments, declined to provide further details.
Golkar's 32 elected councilors, in the country's largest province, were instructed by the central board to boycott the installation ceremony on Wednesday morning following the party's defeat by the Armed Forces faction in the race for chairmanship seat.
While elections in other provinces proceeded smoothly, the contest in Irian Jaya ended in an unexpected win last Friday for Col. Robert Sitorus.
Sitorus won the chairmanship 27-9, pushing aside Golkar candidate and pre-election favorite T.N. Kaiway.
Many Golkar legislators in the secret ballot voted for Sitorus instead of Kaiway.
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. has reportedly approved the election result.
Antara reported that Dortheis Asmuruf, Golkar chief of the province, said the instruction to boycott came via facsimile from Golkar's central board in Jakarta. Kompas said the facsimile was signed by Deputy Chairman Moechtar.
The ceremony was canceled because it failed to make a quorum.
Mismanagement
Political analyst Johanes Kristiadi said yesterday that Golkar's boycott might indicate a mismanagement within its bigger family, which includes the Armed Forces and the bureaucracy.
"The dispute would not have emerged if the election had been well arranged among the three factions within Golkar," Kristiadi said referring to the Armed Forces, bureaucracy and Golkar itself.
As of Wednesday, 18 of the country's 27 provinces have completed election for the chairmanship seat of their respective legislative body. Golkar has won the top seat in 12 provinces including West Java and Central Java.
The Armed Forces faction won six top posts -- Jakarta, East Java, Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, Southeast Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.
Kristiadi said the Irian Jaya case showed the Armed Forces, whose reserved seats at the House of Representatives have been reduced from 100 to 75, would still seek the provincial legislative body's top seat.
"They (the Armed Forces) insist on it (on the ground of) their sense of mission to guide the country safely through a transition in the (national) leadership," Kristiadi said. "Besides, the Armed Forces is the strongest player in the real politics of the country."
Kristiadi predicted the same row could again take place at the national level during the election of House Speaker in October, although some top government officials had signaled that Harmoko was the man for the post.
"The Armed Forces will not voluntarily give up the position if they feel uncertain (that a particular individual) fits their mission," he said.
All 500 House legislators will be inducted on Oct. 1.
Yesterday, Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman said that the dispute within Irian Jaya's legislative council had been settled.
"Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. told me in the meeting that the case was settled yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon," Soesilo told reporters after chairing a coordinative ministerial meeting.
He did not elaborate on the outcome of the dispute settlement. (imn/amd)