Govt backing of PDI breakaways criticized

Govt backing of PDI breakaways criticized

JAKARTA (JP): The government has once again become the target
of criticism from political observers for its backing of the
dissenters in the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Frans Seda, a former cabinet minister and former chairman of a
Catholic party which was merged into the PDI in 1973, said the
government should not have interfered in the party's internal
disputes by favoring one camp over the other.

"The government should have been wiser. It should have helped
settle the internal rift in the PDI," he said here yesterday. "It
shouldn't have approved the request of the breakaway camp to hold
a congress.

"Convening a congress in the middle of the country's
preparations for a general election is bound to disappoint
people, especially PDI members," he said.

In Bandung, West Java, chairman of the Nusantara Legal Aid
Foundation Effendi Saman also criticized the government for its
stance, which he said benefited one camp at the expense of the
other.

Effendi called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), as
the highest legislative body, to help mediate in the dispute. "If
the party's dispute cannot be settled before June next year, the
1997 general election will be rendered invalid and
unconstitutional," he said.

Led by deputy chair Fatimah Achmad, 16 members of the party's
executive board established a congress committee last Tuesday,
claiming that they were acting on the request of 215 of the 306
branches across the country.

The PDI central board said that only 103 branches had demanded
the congress and a fresh election of the leader. The embattled
chief, Megawati Soekarnoputri, has rejected the call for a
congress because it has no legal grounds.

However, the government, through the Ministry of Home Affairs,
has already approved the request, claiming it was made by a
majority of the party's members.

Meanwhile, those who are for the congress and those against it
are still at loggerheads.

Yesterday, Minister of Defense and Security Gen. (ret) Edi
Sudradjat reiterated ABRI's stance that convening a congress was
acceptable as long as it complied with the party's statutes, and
did not disturb the country's security.

"What's important is that the congress doesn't disrupt next
year's general election, or the country's security and unity," he
said.

He said the party's problems should have been resolved in a
democratic way. "The two camps should avoid confrontation and
find an amicable solution to their problem," he said.

Andi Parenrengi Tanri, a senior PDI member in Ujungpandang,
South Sulawesi, said yesterday that the only forum for settling
the dispute would be the planned congress.

The splinter group is currently evaluating four cities as
possible venue for the congress: Palangkaraya in Central
Kalimantan, Medan in North Sumatra, Bukittinggi in West Sumatra
and Manado in North Sulawesi. (imn/01/17/20)