Megawati blames Soerjadi and government for rioting

Megawati blames Soerjadi and government for rioting

JAKARTA (JP): Ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, blames the government and her
rival Soerjadi for the massive rioting on Saturday.

"Soerjadi has the main responsibility for the incident at the
PDI headquarters in the morning and the rioting which ensued
afterwards," Megawati told the press at her house in Pasar
Minggu, South Jakarta, on Saturday afternoon.

She charged that it was Soerjadi's supporters who first opened
attack on her people. "He failed to control his men who then
violated the law.

"The takeover of the party's headquarters was an example of
the misuse of power (by the government) in settling a political
party's internal conflict," she said.

She blamed the government for fomenting a leadership rivalry
in the party. "Soerjadi was officially recognized as the new PDI
chairman for the 1996-1998 period, while I was still the
legitimate PDI leader," she said.

Soerjadi was elected PDI chair in the government-sponsored
congress. He replaced Megawati, who in 1993 was elected
chairwoman by popular vote and was supposed to run the party
until 1998.

Megawati reiterated the legitimacy of her leadership, saying
that until the Central Jakarta District Court (where she filed
lawsuits against the government and the committee of the rebel
congress) rules otherwise, she is still the lawful leader.

"Pending the court's decision the PDI leadership is still
'status quo'. I am therefore still the legitimate PDI leader,"
she said.

She also expressed sadness over the rioting and the injuries
suffered by her supporters and the damage to the party
headquarters.

"I really don't like violence. What happened this morning was
very cruel," she said, blinking back the tears.

She said she will return to the House of Representatives
building tomorrow in her capacity as a PDI representative, ready
to fulfill her duties.

Occupation

Deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights
Marzuki Darusman said it was undeniable that the rioting was
triggered by Soerjadi's supporters and their takeover of the
headquarters, which, he said, was the peak of the party crisis.

"It was triggered by the occupation of the headquarters by
Soerjadi's supporters," he said at a press conference yesterday
on the PDI crisis. He was accompanied by a number of commission
members.

He said he regretted the incident, particularly because it
took place while the rights commission was in the final stages of
bringing the two groups to the negotiations table.

"Only one day before the headquarter takeover, the two camps
had agreed to open a dialog to settle the party's main problem,
namely its leadership rivalry," he said.

Marzuki said he talked to Megawati last Wednesday, while
another commission member Clementino Dos Reis Amaral had spoken
with Soerjadi last Friday. "Both Megawati and Soerjadi had agreed
to meet each other," he said.

Soerjadi reportedly said then that it would be a good idea to
inform security officers of their agreement "in order to avoid
violence".

"However, Soerjadi's camp broke its word," Marzuki said,
adding that reconciliation is still the best solution.

Only hours after the violent takeover, Marzuki said, Soerjadi
"gave me his word that none of his supporters had been involved
in the move."

Secretary-general of the PDI's new central board Buttu
Hutapea, however, was seen among the spectators during the
takeover.

Call for calm

Marzuki called on the Armed Forces and the public to remain
calm and promised to establish an investigation team to determine
the number of people dead and injured.

He said that the tension would last for a few more days, but
predicted that there would eventually be a solution to the
crisis.

Marzuki said that accurate data would be critical to the
rights commission's investigation.

"We'll make sure that we get the exact number of deaths during
the takeover and the riots," he said.

However, he said, the process will take some time. "We cannot
speculate...that would undermine the rights commission's
credibility."

So far, the commission has determined that the violations of
such basic rights as the freedom from fear and the protection of
property took place during the seizure of the headquarters and
the subsequent rioting.

"The violations occurred because of the use of violence for
the sake of certain political goals," he charged. (team)