Meeting called to decide Arifin's fate

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction chief Arifin Panigoro saw his fate hang by a thread on Thursday as a party meeting was called in response to a series of his controversial moves.

Without elaborating, the party's deputy secretary general Pramono Anung said the internal executive meeting was scheduled to take place on Friday.

"I can't say anything now, but we will have an executive meeting tomorrow (on Friday) on the matter. That's all I can say," Pramono told The Jakarta Post.

Earlier on Thursday, a group of PDI Perjuangan legislators expressed resentment with Arifin's latest maneuvering on Wednesday, when he joined his counterparts from four other parties in censuring public calls for the dissolution of the Golkar Party for its alleged attempts to revive the New Order regime.

PDI Perjuangan legislators said Arifin, a noted oil businessman, was not representing the party's faction at the House in spite of his claim.

"For me Arifin's remark yesterday (on Wednesday) was of personal interest. Our official stand over a matter should have gone through a faction meeting. Some of us have rejected his statement," one of the legislators, Permadi, said.

Permadi said it was very unlikely for his party to defend Golkar, whom he said had a role in the government's oppression of opposition parties throughout the 32 years of New Order rule. Golkar was the ruling party during the spell.

"(Since) PDI Perjuangan was the victim of Golkar, there is no way we would come to their defense," Permadi remarked.

He admitted the Friday meeting would discuss the matter, but he was uncertain whether Arifin's chairmanship post would be at stake during the gathering.

Permadi said opposition against Arifin had surfaced over the past few months, and some 90 out of the faction's 153 legislators at the House had signed a petition demanding Arifin's replacement.

"We don't like having such a person like Arifin named as our faction chairman. It's not a matter of personal hatred, but obedience to our party's policies," Permadi contended.

A source told the Post that the largest party is divided into three groups.

The first group comprises hardline combatants of President Abdurrahman Wahid, who include Arifin, Julius Usman and Zulvan Lindan. The second group consists of Abdurrahman's defenders, among them are Panda Nababan and Dimyati Hartono. The third group, who opt to take a moderate approach, include Jacob Tobing.

The demand for Arifin's resignation came from the second and third of these groups.

However, the source said, the party's chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was protecting Arifin, although she questioned his staunch support for Abdurrahman's exit and a plan to accelerate constitutional steps to impeach the President. (dja)