Megawati given conditional go-ahead on PDI meeting

JAKARTA (JP): Despite lacking a police permit, the government said it has no qualms about the national working meeting being held by Megawati Soekarnoputri's camp of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

"Just go ahead with the meeting, as long as it doesn't disturb public order," the Ministry of Home Affair's director general of sociopolitical affairs, Dunidja, said when asked by journalists about the three-day meeting which started Thursday.

Dunidja said that as long as the meeting did not disrupt law and order the government would not take any action.

The meeting, being attended by 75 PDI representatives from across the country, is being held at Bumi Wiyata Hotel in Depok, just south of Jakarta and is due to end this afternoon.

Megawati loyalist Laksamana Sukardi told reporters during a break in the meeting yesterday that the gathering was part of the party's preparations for the upcoming general election.

Without elaborating, Laksamana said the PDI was consolidating its position ahead of the poll which is scheduled for either next May or June.

The government has yet to formally recognize Megawati's faction of the PDI since she was ousted as chairperson by Soerjadi in a government-backed congress in 1996.

Soerjadi has announced that his faction will hold a congress in Palu, Central Sulawesi, from Aug. 26 to Aug. 30. Congress organizers claim that they have invited President B.J. Habibie to open the congress.

Yesterday, Dunidja denied growing speculation that the government's "leniency" of allowing Megawati to hold a meeting was a precursor to a formal recognition.

"Actually, we are not just letting them be. But the government is really hoping that both camps can reconcile themselves and reunite," Dunidja said.

When asked whether the government would let the party remain divided in two camps until the general election, Dunidja said it would depend on the electoral, political party and mass organization laws currently being drafted.

"Let's see the laws and regulations first. (It's only by then) that we'll know how we'll react to the PDI case," Dunidja said.

He reiterated once again that the government considered the rift between Megawati and Soerjadi an internal party matter. (imn/aan)