Megawati responsible for security in Bali: Habibie
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie has told ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri that she is to help ensure security and order during her faction's congress in Bali this week.
He reportedly told the eldest daughter of the country's first president that any security disturbances would seriously affect tourism on the island.
"He (Habibie) has conveyed to Ibu Megawati that she is also responsible for the security (of the congress) because Bali is the gateway for Indonesian tourism," Bali Governor Dewa Made Beratha said on Tuesday after meeting the President at Merdeka Palace. He did not know when Habibie first delivered the message to Megawati.
Beratha was one of several new governors who met with the President for a briefing on their respective provinces. The others were West Nusa Tenggara Governor Harun Al Rasyid, Central Java Governor Mardiyanto and South Sumatra Rosihan Arsyad.
The Bali governor said he had yet to receive an invitation to attend the congress, but pledged that he would attend if invited.
Quoting reports from Balinese hoteliers, Beratha said the Bali tourist industry had not been affected by the congress.
"All foreign consulates in Bali also support the congress. There is no fear at all," the governor said.
The Bali administration will help safeguard the congress, he said, while simultaneously promoting tourism on the island.
"We will help the congress committee with security. If anything wrong happens, it will ruin the image of Indonesia in the international community," he said.
He dismissed speculation that "preemptive" measures had been taken to prevent Megawati supporters from entering Bali via the Banyuwangi-Gilimanuk ferry shuttle service. "There has been no cutback in the ferry shuttle service schedule," he said.
Separately, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said on Tuesday that Megawati would still have to obtain government recognition of her party faction.
"She (Megawati) cannot neglect the importance of the government's recognition since it is a regulation," he told reporters during a break of a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II on political affairs.
"Legal recognition of her PDI can only be obtained after the three political draft laws are passed," he said.
Syarwan dismissed allegations that he had personal feelings against Megawati. The minister has been charged of condoning the 1996 PDI Medan Congress which elected Soerjadi as chairman to replace Megawati. The congress is not recognized by Megawati's PDI faction.
Syarwan was the Armed Forces chief of social political affairs at the time. "It has nothing to do with likes or dislikes. Everything must be in compliance with regulations," he said.
He declined to comment on Megawati's apparent negligence to invite him to the congress, saying that he was responsible for the completion of the drafts of the three political laws prior to the general election slated for next year.
Congress organizers report they are nearly ready for the Oct. 8 to Oct. 10 gathering, saying the preparations at the venue, the Grand Bali Beach Hotel, are almost complete.
Members of the PDI executive board loyal to Megawati, including secretary-general Alexander Litaay, chief treasurer Laksamana Sukardi and PDI senior member Sabam Sirait, have also arrived on the island.
Megawati will reportedly arrive on Wednesday. She and her family on Tuesday stopped for a day in Blitar, East Java, where they paid homage to the grave of her father, Sukarno.
Megawati is popular in Bali since one of her grandmothers, Idaju, was Balinese. Idaju's uncle was the last monarch of Bali's Singaraja Kingdom. (prb/43/imn)