Megawati baffled by protracted conflicts

Megawati baffled by protracted conflicts

JAKARTA (JP): Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri says she is perplexed by the
conflicts which continue to afflict the minority party.

"Why all the conflicts when all problems could be solved
through dialogs?" she said in Indramayu, West Java, on Tuesday,
when she inducted members of local PDI branches. Around 2,000
supporters, as well as a number of officials, joined the
ceremony.

She called on all party officials at various levels to "unite
and avoid conflicts which will only weaken the party," the Antara
news agency reported.

"Please unite...what's the use of all these conflicts. I'm
baffled sometimes," she said.

Megawati said she has a policy of first asking party officials
in various regencies if they are willing to take on the
responsibilities associated with their positions.

"If they are reluctant, they should resign," she said. "PDI
members should be motivated and high-spirited as well as prepared
to build strong (local) organizations."

Thirty-one of the 37 PDI branches in East Java have recently
asked the province's governor, Basofi Soedirman, to step in if
PDI headquarters in Jakarta can't resolve the leadership conflict
in the region.

The East Java chapter of the PDI has been rocked by division
between those supporting the leadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri
and those who oppose her. The conflict began at a PDI congress in
East Java to elect its regional leaders in January. It ended in
deadlock when Megawati annulled the election and appointed her
own man to lead the chapter.

Megawati's camp has already accused Basofi of intervening in
the party's internal affairs by supporting and legitimizing her
opponents in East Java.

Similar conflicts over leadership have occurred in several
other branches of the party. In West Java, for instance, the post
of branch chair has been empty since Djadjang Kurniadi was
dismissed earlier this year after the military alleged that he
had past links with the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party.

Yesterday, activists at the West Java branch lamented the
vacuum, saying the condition threatens the party's chances in the
1997 general elections.

Sukmana Djaja, deputy chairman of the branch encompassing
several camps in West Java, said that elections should be fair
and involve all parties.

"This is where the role of governor, as the patron of regional
political life, is absolutely needed," he said as quoted by
Antara. "This is why the West Java PDI members respect and
appreciate Governor R. Nuriana's ultimatum."

Nuriana recently set December 1995 as the deadline for the
local chapters of PDI to solve their squabble. If they fail to
meet it, he said, the West Java authorities will intervene. (swe)