Golkar to assign youths to monitor general election
JAKARTA (JP): Harmoko, chairman of the ruling political organization Golkar, said on Saturday he would mobilize thousands of Golkar youths to monitor the 1997 general election.
Speaking at a meeting of Golkar cadres in Viqueque, East Timor, Harmoko said the youths would be called in to observe the election process at the village and district levels.
"If there are indications of improprieties then report them to the Panwaslak and not to any other institution. Golkar cadres have to play by the rules," said Harmoko, who is also minister of information.
Panwaslak is the acronym for the government's official election supervision committee. Other poll watchdogs such as the recently established Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) have not been recognized.
The government has shunned these groups and last week stated that alternative poll monitoring committees are not needed.
Apart from monitoring the election, Harmoko also instructed Golkar's youth task force to safeguard the elections, which take place every five years.
"If there are those who wish to disrupt or disturb the elections then report them to the authorities," he said as quoted by Antara.
The task force is comprised of 16 Golkar-affiliated youth organizations. It is headed by Indra Bambang Utoyo, who chairs one of the 16 organizations.
Separately in Jakarta, the secretary-general of the National Commission on Human Rights, Baharudin Lopa, attributed the advent of independent monitoring bodies to a growing political awareness and greater democratization.
"The organizations indicate growth in romanticism as well as dynamism in political life which attest to a continuing process of democratization," he remarked.
While Baharudin said the birth of these groups is encouraging, he stressed the need for them to follow the rules.
Furthermore, he said, any findings by independent poll monitors must be reported to and investigated by the government- sanctioned committee.
The independent organizations must not exploit their objectives or undermine the political parties, he added.
Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, political scientist Riswandha Imawan said the development of autonomous poll watchdogs is a sign of increasing political openness.
Nevertheless, he told The Jakarta Post that the rise of competing monitoring groups could also serve to disrupt the election process by confusing the general public.
The advent of the independent monitor last month has spawned two other election monitoring bodies. One of the groups has gone so far as to call itself a monitor of the independent monitoring committee.
According to Riswandha, a culture of competition and rivalry is a reflection of the country's weak democratic system in which those who are unhappy or politically unsatisfied resort to such means to achieve their political ends.
He added that it is natural for people to think that the independent poll watchdog is politically oriented. But, he said, "I am quite sure that KIPP is a moral force."
The independent committee was founded by vocal government critics and rights activist, including the editor of the now defunct Tempo magazine Goenawan Mohamad and founder of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation Adnan Buyung Nasution.
In Bandung, West Java, a founding member of committee said the formation of rival groups is acceptable as long as the groups focus on intellectual competition and do not provoke physical clashes.
When asked about the financial state of the new monitoring committee, Arbi said donations were pouring in. While he would not reveal an amount, he denied that any funds had come from abroad.(mds/har/17)