Megawati accuses govt of trampling over democracy
JAKARTA (JP): The embattled leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, said yesterday that the government had trampled over democracy when settling political disputes.
She said the government's support for her foes' maneuver to illegally unseat her reflected how moral standards and democratic principles had slipped.
"The meddling could be seen from the congress' preparation until after it was over," she said in a statement presented to a seminar in Yogyakarta by Mochtar Buchori, the deputy chief of PDI's research and development department.
The congress held in Medan, North Sumatra, from June 20 through June 22 elected Soerjadi as the new PDI chairman. But Megawati retains strong popular support as the party's leader.
Megawati, a daughter of late president Sukarno, also accused the government of intimidating PDI provincial leaders so that they attended the Medan congress.
The military and the government have repeatedly denied engineering the disputed congress, saying that they only "facilitated the wish of a majority of PDI members".
Megawati said it was time the government stopped abusing its power when dealing with political disputes. It was time things were resolved legally.
The seminar held by Gadjah Mada University also featured the Deputy Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas), Juwono Sudarsono, a law professor from the Diponegoro University in Semarang, Satjipto Rahardjo, and a lecturer from Gadjah Mada University, Sanyoto.
In Jakarta, veteran PDI politician Marsoesi criticized Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. for hastily recognizing Soerjadi and for giving him the authority to propose PDI's candidates for the House of Representatives next year.
"The minister is confusing the public because even the President has not recognized Soerjadi," he said.
He doubted Soerjadi's ability to consolidate the PDI because the general election was only a year away and he had little support from PDI members.
Support for Megawati, from individuals and organizations, kept rising yesterday in different parts of Indonesia.
In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, about 1,000 activists from the Indonesian Front for Democracy took to the city's streets expressing their support for Megawati and rejecting the rebel congress.
The rally started at 9 a.m. in front of the PDI Ujungpandang chapter's office. Demonstrators took turns on a stage expressing their opinions about the PDI leadership crisis.
The "free forum" lasted two hours before the protesters took to the streets. They visited the homes of several PDI members who had attended the rebel congress, but none of them were in. Anti- riot police were on hand.
The protesters also staged a free forum in front of the South Sulawesi governor's office where they read a petition. They demanded that Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. resign for supporting the congress.
In Jakarta, about three hundred activists from the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union marched to the PDI headquarters in Jl. Diponegoro. Several of them staged a play in support of Megawati.
The union's members marched from the office of the nearby Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.
In Cilacap, Central Java, soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho said yesterday that he was a Megawati loyalist, but denied that he had challenged the government.
"I support Megawati out of my sympathy to the eldest daughter of the late president Sukarno," he told The Jakarta Post after attending a meeting of PDI's Cilacap branch. (imn/har/wah/20)