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)