Megawati kills democracy: Experts

Megawati kills democracy: Experts

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Political experts criticized chairwoman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Megawati
Soekarnoputri dubbing her a "democracy killer" for defying her
party's aspirations by supporting the reelection of Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso.

"She has not only reduced (the meaning of democracy), she has
even killed democracy," political observer J. Kristiadi of the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said at a
discussion at the City Council on Thursday.

PDI Perjuangan's central board announced on Tuesday that the
party favored Sutiyoso as the governor was considered capable of
providing security during the 2004 General Election and the
General Assembly of the People's Consultative Assembly in 2005.

Two weeks before the announcement, Megawati had instructed the
party's city councillors to nominate Sutiyoso, rejecting the
party's own candidates.

Kristiadi viewed Megawati's endorsement as undemocratic since
it defied the aspirations of her party's city branches, which
earlier nominated 11 gubernatorial candidates, not including
Sutiyoso, in its earlier meeting here.

He said Megawati had repeated the same mistakes committed by
the past regime of former authoritarian Soeharto by endorsing
Sutiyoso, who is a former Jakarta military commander.

"Her acting against the grass roots aspirations will weaken
support for her party since their supporters will no longer trust
the party," Kristiadi said.

He said the Jakarta election should be more democratic than
other provinces and urged the party's councillors and other
councillors to reject Megawati's nomination.

Separately, political expert Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said Megawati
should remember that Sutiyoso was implicated in the bloody attack
at her party's headquarters on July 27, 1996.

"Megawati and her party seem to have forgotten the case for
the reasons of political expediency. It could become a boomerang
for her party," Ikrar of the National Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) was quoted by Detikcom online news as saying.

In his opinion Megawati was practicing the ways of the New
Order regime of Soeharto in nominating a military figure for
Jakarta governor citing security reasons.

Megawati's support for Sutiyoso is controversial as the
party's city chapters earlier proposed 11 other candidates in its
earlier meeting here.

Her actions have been deplored by party members and she has
been called a traitor by victims of the July 27 tragedy for
nominating Sutiyoso. At least five supporters were killed after
the attack, which was followed by massive riots in the areas
around the party headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta
in 1996.

The party's Jakarta chapter chairman Tarmidi Suhardjo, who was
nominated by the party's branches, pledged to continue his
candidacy although Megawati has nominated Sutiyoso.

"I'm ready to be "slapped" by Megawati and even kicked out of
the party," Tarmidi, who is also the City Council's deputy
chairman, said earlier.

But the former deputy chairman of the party's central board,
Suparlan, who is also a member of the House of Representatives,
supported Megawati's decision.

"We (our cadres) have no capability to become a governor or,
even, a City Council chairman. We should be realistic," Suparlan
said.

Separately, the Association of Indonesian Provincial
Legislative Bodies plan to issue a statement rejecting Megawati's
intervention in the election, the association chairman Edy Waluyo
said on Thursday.

"The Jakarta delegation will propose an agenda to discuss the
central government's intervention in the gubernatorial election,"
Edy, who is also chairman of the City Council, told reporters.

Accompanied by West Sumatra Legislative Council chairman Arwan
Kasri, Edy, who earlier registered himself as a candidate,
revealed the association would hold a two-day national meeting in
Pangkal Pinang, Bangka-Belitung province, starting on Friday.

Arwan Kasri, who is also the association's coordinator for
Sumatra, supported Edy's statement, saying the gubernatorial
election was under the authority of the City Council.

"We councillors in West Sumatra reject the intervention. It's
the right of the provincial legislative body," said Arwan of the
National Mandate Party (PAN).

The fate of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, which will be
held on Sept. 17, will be in the hands of 84 councillors, 30 of
which come from PDI Perjuangan, 13 from PAN, 12 from the United
Development Party, nine from the Indonesian Military
(TNI)/National Police faction and eight from the Golkar party.
The rest belong to several minor parties.