Governor Basofi stands firm on PDI issue
Governor Basofi stands firm on PDI issue
SURABAYA (JP): East Java Governor Basofi Soedirman reiterated yesterday his refusal to recognize Sutjipto, the appointed chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)'s provincial chapter in East Java.
"The PDI central executive board wants me to approve (Sutjipto). It has half-forced me to do so," he said here yesterday. "Is it logical? Imagine forcing me to recognize its No. 043 decree (on the 1994 installment of Sutjipto)."
"There's no way I would recognize the decree," he said.
Basofi added that Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. has instructed him to resolve the PDI conflict by May, when committees begin registering voters for the general elections.
However, he said, "I don't dare say when this conflict is going to end. It all depends on the conflicting parties."
According to Basofi, Yogie has said that the key to ending the conflict is in the party's constitutional statutes and in-house regulations.
When asked if the PDI decree was constitutional, Basofi retorted: "How is it constitutional?"
Basofi recalled a meeting he set up to bring the two camps together to negotiate on Dec. 29, when Sutjipto failed to show up. "Now that's constitutional," he said.
Sutjipto and his opponent, Latief Pudjosakti, each claims to be the chapter's legitimate chairman. The first is backed by the central executive board, led by chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, while it is widely understood that the latter has the support of the East Java administration.
The nationalist-Christian alliance party is currently dogged by various conflicts, both internal and outside of the party.
In addition to the lagging conflict within the East Java chapter, which prompted Basofi to exclude it from the recently- established regional electoral committee, the rival board is threatening Megawati's leadership once again.
Clara Sitompul Tambunan, who helped found the rival board last year, announced yesterday the group will hold an extraordinary congress next month to establish the board's full lineup.
She did not give the exact date of the congress, but said it would be held after the Moslems celebrate Idul Fitri on Feb. 20- 21.
Clara, who is also deputy to self-appointed chairman Jusuf Merukh, was quoted by Antara as saying that the congress is expected to produce "a constitutional central executive board".
She said the board led by Megawati Soekarnoputri, elected in the December 1993 congress, failed to hold the requisite convention to appoint the party's regional leaders three months after the 1993 congress as promised.
"According to the organization's regulations, her leadership board is not valid," Clara said. She admitted, however, that her board also failed to meet the criteria.
"There are two boards, and neither is legal," she said to explain why her board is holding the congress next month.
Clara also supports Basofi's decision to exclude PDI from the East Java regional electoral committee, and suggested that other governors do the same if the PDI chapters in their regions are embroiled in similar problems.
She identified the PDI chapters in West Java, South Sulawesi, North Sumatra and South Sumatra as also having leadership conflicts similar to the East Java chapter.
"The governors there should be as firm as Basofi is," she said.
From Bandung, the recently established National Committee for the Monitoring of General Elections said Basofi's decision to exclude PDI is "proof of the campaign to weaken and abolish the political rights of political parties to establish a fair and honest election".
The committee, established by a number of non-governmental organizations, also supported Megawati's leadership for "consistently resisting any forms of intervention, either from the government or other forces which might reduce the party's independence". (15/swe)
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