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)