Megawati blames Soerjadi for inciting riots

Megawati blames Soerjadi for inciting riots

JAKARTA (JP): The ousted chief of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, continued her legal battle
for the party's leadership yesterday, saying that the government-
backed PDI chairman Soerjadi was the culprit behind the July 27
rioting.

"Soerjadi was responsible for the July 27 rioting. The
incident would never have happened if Soerjadi had not ordered
(his men) to take over the PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro,
Central Jakarta," said R.O. Tambunan, one of Megawati's lawyers.

Tambunan, together with ousted PDI secretary-general Alexander
Litaay and 30 other lawyers, lodged Megawati's complaint against
Soerjadi yesterday at the city police headquarters.

Tambunan said the team complained to the police that the party
headquarters was literally attacked by a group of Soerjadi's
supporters, who reportedly received two weeks of military
training for the purpose in Cibubur, East Jakarta.

"Soerjadi should be slapped with criminal charges. He could
even possibly be accused of subversion for inciting the rioting,"
he said.

Soerjadi was elected PDI chairman in a government-sponsored
rebel congress in June. He replaced Megawati, who in 1993 was
elected chairwoman by popular vote and was scheduled to run the
party until 1998.

Megawati has repeatedly defended the legitimacy of her
leadership, saying that until the Central Jakarta District Court
(where she filed a lawsuit 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 frequently said.

The team of lawyers also submitted a petition yesterday to
House Speaker Wahono demanding that Soerjadi, who is also deputy
House Speaker, be dismissed. They were unable to discuss the
issue with Wahono after failing to meet some administrative
procedures, according to House Secretary-General Afif Ma'roef.

The team then brought their grievance to the National
Commission on Human Rights.

Attack

Tambunan recounted to a commission member that, on July 27, he
was trying to negotiate with the police over the status of the
headquarters when he heard a district military chief tell his 500
followers to move by shouting: "Attack!"

"Chairman of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute Bambang Widjoyanto, PDI deputy chairman Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno and myself are the living witnesses," he said.

He said that although the three of them had fled and sought
shelter at the Legal Aid Foundation office on Jl. Diponegoro,
security personnel kept on chasing them.

"It was then that the masses appeared from alleys in support
of the fight for democracy," Tambunan said. "The catastrophical
rioting that followed, though we doubted it was instigated by our
supporters, stemmed from the people's frustration upon seeing
security personnel condoning injustices.

"They saw the violent attack staged by Soerjadi's followers in
front of the police, who did nothing to prevent it," he said.

Soegiri said the lawyers' complaints would be discussed at the
commission's next plenary meeting. The commission had earlier
said it would announce the results of its own investigation into
the rioting tomorrow or Saturday.

Meanwhile, foreign reaction continued to pour in. Yesterday
AFP reported that the United States warned authorities in
Indonesia to respect the rights of Megawati, who has been
summoned for questioning.

"We know that Mrs. Megawati has had to decide whether or not
she wants to comply with the order to talk to the government
authorities," State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said.

"We expect that she will be treated well and humanely, and
that her rights will be respected," he said. (imn/14)