Megawati given conditional go-ahead on PDI meeting
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)