Government to keep hands off PDI conflicts

Government to keep hands off PDI conflicts

JAKARTA (JP): The government made a fresh call on the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) yesterday to resolve its leadership conflicts without government intervention.

Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. told a hearing with House Commission II for home affairs that the government would leave the PDI to solve the conflict within its East Java chapter.

"It's not possible for East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman to pick just one of the two rival boards," Yogie said.

"The stance of the central government remains the same, and that is that the PDI rift is an internal affair," said the ministry's Director General of Social Political Affairs, Soetoyo N.K., who accompanied Yogie in the meeting.

"The ministry also sees it as a regional problem to be settled by Governor Basofi Soedirman, in his capacity as the patron of provincial politics," Soetoyo said.

PDI legislator Subagyo said Yogie and his staff were probably given "wrong information" by the East Java authorities regarding the conflict.

He said Soetoyo's explanation of how the party came to have two boards in 1994 was "wrong".

During the hearing yesterday, Soetoyo recounted for the legislators the chronology of the conflict, beginning with the 1994 chapter congress which elected Soetjipto, one of the rival chairs, over Latief Pudjosakti.

However, Soetoyo added that because four extra ballot sheets were discovered at the time, the results of the 1994 congress were nullified.

PDI's central board, under Megawati Soekarnoputri, then appointed Soetjipto as East Java chapter leader. Latief, however, claimed he was also the rightful chairman.

Yogie and Soetoyo said earlier that Basofi cannot recognize either one because both men have equal claims to legitimacy.

Subagyo disagreed, saying that the members of the electoral team, which set up the rival board, had no voting rights.

He said these rights were the privilege of party chief Megawati, the chair of the team at the time who installed Sutjipto.

Some of the team members later elected Latief Pudjosakti, who was reportedly backed by the central government. Megawati later dismissed Latief, who insisted he still had the support of the majority.

The leadership wrangling is significant because the East Java administration has just established its regional committee for the 1997 general elections which leaves PDI unrepresented.

Basofi has given the party until May to resolve the impasse and come up with representatives to sit on the committee.

Subagyo yesterday said the exclusion of PDI makes the committee illegal, and that the matter should be brought to President Soeharto.

"The government claims there is still a problem within our East Java branch, while we say there isn't," he said.

PDI leaders have accused Basofi of meddling in their internal affairs.

"Because the problem has not been settled at the local level...the matter must be taken to the central level of the election committee and, if this also (fails), to the President as the highest authority," Subagyo said.

Yogie refused to answer reporters who asked if another provincial chapter congress would have to be convened to confirm the leadership of the PDI's East Java chapter. (anr)