KIPP to continue monitoring election stages

KIPP to continue monitoring election stages

JAKARTA (JP): The Independent Election Monitoring Committee
(KIPP), which shot to prominence shortly after its birth last
year and has since been long silent, says it has found violations
in some of the preparatory stages of the May general election.

Chairman Goenawan Mohamad told a press conference here
yesterday the body, as yet unrecognized by the government, would
continue to monitor the next stages of the election, including
the voting. "We'll continue monitoring all the proceedings,
although, constitutionally, the election is no longer worthy of
being continued," Goenawan said.

He cited as a violation the General Elections Institute's
endorsement of the list of legislature candidates submitted by
the government-backed Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) chairman
Soerjadi, whose leadership is still being disputed in court.

He also cited the Central Java administration's controversial
program of painting various public objects yellow, including
dustbins and tree trunks, the official color of the ruling
Golkar. Goenawan said the "yellowization" policy was illicit
electioneering and a violation of the electoral regulations.

Goenawan, former chief editor of the banned news weekly Tempo,
said the committee would concentrate its resources on monitoring
the election day, scheduled for May 29.

The body has networks in 47 Indonesian cities and overseas
networks in Germany, Holland, France, Britain and Sweden.

The secretary-general of the independent election watch,
Mulyana W. Kusumah, said the committee was planning to monitor
the election day in eight cities, in which it has sufficient
equipment and personnel.

The cities are Jakarta, Cianjur in West Java, Semarang in
Central Java, Malang in East Java, Palembang in South Sumatra,
Jambi, Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra and Ujungpandang in
South Sulawesi.

Mulyana said the committee had sent 26 activists to join an
election monitoring training camp with POLLWATCH in Thailand,
NAMFREL in the Philippines, and FEMA in Bangladesh.

He said 34 foreign politicians, activists from non-
governmental and labor organizations would join the KIPP
activists to monitor election day.

The independent committee was established in Jakarta last
March by a group of well-known activists, to monitor all stages
of this year's general election.

Yesterday's press conference, attended by local and foreign
media, also heard about electoral regulations violations recorded
by the body's activists in the provinces.

Agus Wijaya from the Bali chapter of KIPP said the ruling
Golkar had "lent" Rp 7 million (US$3,000) to each Hindu temple
willing to declare "a pledge of allegiance" to Golkar in the
presence of worshipers.

"Religions should be free from political interference. Golkar
has violated the religious independence with its political
interference in Balinese Hindu temples," he accused.

"What should be considered is the fact that the temple has to
return the money if it fails to conduct the (pledge of
allegiance) ceremony," he said.

Martin Thalib from the Ujungpandang chapter in South Sulawesi
said there were thousands of student activists who still have not
been registered to vote in the May election.

Endri Dewanto of the Malang chapter in East Java said a lot of
pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) and university students
living in boarding houses in East Java have also still not been
registered. (imn)