Golkar to assign youths to monitor general election
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)