Megawati defies mayor's order to close HQ

JAKARTA (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri yesterday defied an East Jakarta mayoralty order to close her new Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Condet, East Jakarta.

East Jakarta Mayor Lt. Col. Sudarsono, citing the area as a residential zone, has given Megawati until 6.30 p.m. today to comply with his order.

"We will continue our activities here," Haryanto Taslam, the deputy secretary-general of Megawati's PDI executive board, told reporters at the Condet headquarters.

The board has written back to the Mayor and is now awaiting his response, Haryanto said. Until then, it's business as usual at Condet.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) at 1 p.m. we will hold a syukuran for the new office," he said, referring to the Indonesian term for a thanksgiving ceremony.

He stressed that Megawati and her supporters would not close the office or move, and that they would wait and see what the authorities had in store for them today when the deadline passes.

Mayor Sudarsono, in a letter dated Monday, gave Megawati three days to shut her PDI headquarters in Condet. He cited a 1991 bylaw which states that houses in designated residential zones cannot be converted into offices.

Those defying the rule may have their properties sealed-off.

Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said last week the activities of Megawati and her board in their new office was illegal, but said he would leave it to the East Jakarta mayor to take the necessary steps to close the headquarters.

Megawati set up her new headquarters on Sept. 9 in a spacious, two-story house rented from businessman Erwin Pardede, a member of the ruling Golkar party.

Megawati lost the official PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, after her supporters were forcefully ousted in July by supporters of Soerjadi, the chairman of the officially- recognized PDI board.

The Diponegoro office, which is government property, was badly damaged in the attack. It remains vacant.

In her letter to the mayor, Megawati, argued that the order to close the Condet office was groundless given that the house had been used as an office by previous tenants, her lawyer R.O. Tambunan said.

Tambunan revealed a letter signed by the chief of the Gedong subdistrict, where Megawati's PDI headquarters is located, allowing the previous tenant to use the property as an office. The permit is valid until Oct. 4, he added.

Besides, the PDI headquarters is not the only property in the area that has been converted into an office, Tambunan said. "A lot of houses are used for offices there."

In another development, Aberson Marle Sihaloho, a PDI legislator loyal to Megawati, has received a police summons to answer charges of defaming President Soeharto, sowing hatred against the government and denouncing the authorities.

The summons originally ordered Aberson to go to the Jakarta Police Headquarters on Tuesday, but his lawyer said they could not attend until Friday.

The first charge carries a maximum sentence of six years imprisonment, the second carries a seven year sentence and the third 18 months.

Jakarta Police Chief Detective Paimin Abuamr told reporters yesterday he had received the go-ahead from President Soeharto to question the legislator as a suspect.

By law, a legislator cannot be questioned for criminal acts without the approval of the head of state. (imn/bsr)