Govt accused of engineering PDI conflict

Govt accused of engineering PDI conflict

JAKARTA (JP): Parties involved in the Indonesian Democratic
Party's (PDI) leadership conflict continued to hurl accusations
at each other yesterday.

Loyalists of ousted PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri,
responding to Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and
Security Gen. (ret.) Feisal Tanjung's statement that the conflict
was an internal matter of the party, placed the blame squarely on
the military and the government.

Kwik Kian Gie, the head of Megawati's think-tank, and some of
his colleagues said it was the authorities' interference that
created the problem in the first place. They accused some
officials of attempting to muddy history with certain statements
about the party.

"I don't know if Feisal lied or if he was actually ill-
informed, or if he was well-informed but had forgotten it because
he has too much work to do now ... but his claim was untrue,"
Kwik said.

Kwik was accompanied by Subagyo Anam, Haryanto Taslam,
Laksamana Sukardi, Tarto Sudiro, Sukowaluyo, S.G.B. Tampubolon,
Roy B.B. Janis, Noviantika Nasution and Mochtar Buchori.

In his capacity as Armed Forces (ABRI) commander in 1996,
Feisal was one of the staunchest sponsors of a breakaway PDI
congress in North Sumatra's capital of Medan that toppled
Megawati and installed Soerjadi as the party's leader.

Along with then home affairs minister Moch. Yogie S.M. and
ABRI chief of sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid,
Feisal endorsed Soerjadi and dismissed Megawati's leadership as
invalid.

Laksamana charged that the rift had been engineered by aides
of former president Soeharto in order to clear the way for his
ascension to the presidency for a seventh consecutive term.

Taslam said the Medan congress was legally invalid since it
was "supported" by only 141 branch offices -- 15 short of the
minimum 156 required. The party has 310 branches.

"Not to mention that the representatives of those 141 branches
were manipulated and intimidated by (the splinter) group helped
by the military and the bureaucracy," said Taslam, who is deputy
secretary-general under Megawati.

Feisal, Syarwan and Yogie denied any responsibility for the
rift, though Soerjadi has admitted that he was their chosen man
and that the military and the government had interfered in the
process. Syarwan, now minister of home affairs, has asked that
the rivals wait for a court decision on the legality of the
congress.

The congress, which also elected Buttu R. Hutapea as
secretary-general, led to the forcible takeover of the PDI
headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro 58 from Megawati supporters on
July 27, 1996. The incident sparked rioting that left five people
dead and 23 still classified as missing.

Feisal recently claimed that it was Buttu who led the attack,
prompting the National Police yesterday to promise to take
another look at the incident.

However, National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi said they
needed to have enough evidence before questioning Buttu.

"We need to collect evidence other than Pak Feisal Tanjung's
statement," he told journalists here.

Roesmanhadi suggested that Megawati's faction file a formal
request for the local police to reinvestigate the incident.

"There are certain procedures that the Megawati faction needs
to follow," Roesmanhadi said. "They must submit a report,
including the evidence, to the police so the police can start an
investigation."

He refused to respond to earlier calls from Megawati
supporters for an investigation into 200 PDI members who were
involved in the takeover.

"I was appointed police chief only last month," he said.

Roesmanhadi's account contradicted that of his subordinate,
Jakarta Police Chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman, who said
yesterday that his officers had questioned at least 30 people who
witnessed the bloody incident.

"We have questioned dozens of witnesses, among them were
members of the 200 PDI security personnel involved in the
incident," Noegroho said.

He, however, refused to reveal results of the questioning.

"The investigation has yet to be completed. I cannot give you
any conclusions about it. Just wait for further results.

"As for Buttu Hutapea, we will summon him if it is considered
necessary to do so," he said. (edt/imn/aan)