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)