Megawati shuns meeting

Megawati shuns meeting

JAKARTA (JP): In what could be the most flagrant snub yet to
Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri's aides
confirmed that she would not attend Monday's meeting of political
leaders convened by the President to seek a face-saving
compromise for his presidency.

"Ibu Megawati will not attend the meeting because she has a
full working schedule as Vice President," Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) deputy secretary-general
Agnita Singadikane Irsal told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Agnita said Megawati, who chairs PDI Perjuangan, had a full
pre-confirmed schedule for Monday that would keep her busy until
4 p.m.

She further underlined that it was better for Megawati to be
absent since the meeting lacked a clear agenda, so there was no
specific reason for her attendance.

"The meeting doesn't have a clear agenda, so the purpose of it
is questionable. Furthermore, thus far we haven't received a
formal invitation from the President," Agnita said.

Megawati is schedule to return on Sunday night from a health
checkup in Singapore, and her "full agenda" on Monday includes
chairing a coordinating ministerial meeting on economics and
closing a course at the National Resilience Institute military
think tank.

Abdurrahman will convene a gathering of political party
leaders at Bogor Palace on Monday afternoon in what is seen as a
last-ditch attempt to avoid possible removable from office during
the upcoming special session of the People's Consultative
Assembly, due to begin on Aug. 1.

So far, only the chairman of the Golkar Party, Akbar Tandjung;
United Development Party (PPP), Hamzah Haz; and National
Awakening Party, Matori Abdul Djalil have confirmed their
presence.

Megawati's absence would be a great setback for the
beleaguered presidency and likely close the door for those
predicting any possible political reconciliation.

Separately, secretary of the PDI Perjuangan central board Roy
BB Janis, who was in Bandung on Sunday to attend a party event,
said Megawati was focusing more on a future separate meeting of
political leaders that she would convene in the third week of
July.

Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, who was also present at the
event in Bandung, when asked about his wife's attendance on
Monday, rhetorically replied, "Well what do you think. Is it
better to attend or not?"

Meanwhile, in Bantul, Yogyakarta, National Mandate Party (PAN)
chairman Amien Rais also said on Sunday he would not attend,
saying the meeting was simply too close to the impending special
session.

Amien, who is also the Assembly speaker, remarked that his
attendance would only confuse the people, and that he wanted to
avoid misperceptions that the meeting would be a forum for the
distribution of power and positions.

Earlier in Jakarta, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab
told the Post that the meeting would go ahead as scheduled on
Monday, as Akbar and Hamzah had already confirmed their
attendance.

Presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said "the meeting is a
discussion forum between political leaders and should not be
interpreted as trying to affect the upcoming special session."

In a late development on Sunday night here, Mahadi Sinambela,
deputy secretary-general of Golkar, said that Akbar would only
attend the Bogor meeting if the chiefs of all the invited major
political parties attended.

Mahadi was speaking after attending a meeting of senior
officials of political parties, including PDI Perjuangan, Golkar,
PPP, the Crescent Star Party, and PAN.

The meeting, held at the Santika Hotel in Central Jakarta,
agreed once again to propose to the Assembly working committee on
Monday that the special session be brought forward from its
scheduled start date of Aug. 1. (25/44/dja)