Megawati accuses govt of trampling over democracy

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)