Megawati supporters warn of disintegration
JAKARTA (JP): The government needs to be more careful in its handling of the Indonesian Democratic Party's (PDI) leadership crisis, or run the risk of causing national disintegration.
The call was made by Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, one of a group of people loyal to ousted PDI chief Megawati Soekarnoputri, in Yogyakarta yesterday. The convening of a government-sponsored rebel congress last month in Medan, North Sumatra, which elected Soerjadi as the party's new chairman, has split party members into two camps, he said.
Soetardjo also said that the government needs to handle with care the growing animosity that many of Megawati's supporters at the grassroots level feel toward the rebel group.
"The grassroots' animosity toward those who joined the congress has reached a critical stage. It may snowball and hit anything that stands on its way," he said.
Soetardjo also dismissed the recent calls for consolidation voiced by government officials and observers alike. "In this situation, it would be impossible for Soerjadi to consolidate all PDI members," he said. "He and the other party executives cannot control the grassroots supporters."
Meanwhile, criticism against the government and military's meddling in PDI's affairs continued to increase. A number of protests were staged in several cities yesterday, including Denpasar in Bali and Palu in Central Sulawesi.
In Jakarta, seven PDI legislators issued a joint statement criticizing the police raid on a meeting of the PDI East Jakarta branch last Saturday.
"We can't accept the fact that the raid took place when the branch leaders and participants were singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya, and that security officers fired warning shots to disperse the meeting," read the statement signed by, among others, Sophan Sophiaan and Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo.
The conference, organized by Megawati loyalists, was to prepare a list of candidates for the House of Representatives.
Megawati, the eldest daughter of the late president Sukarno, was "unseated" at a congress last month by her political rivals, who received government and military backing.
Meanwhile, the student body of the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political Sciences demanded that the government and military stop meddling in PDI's internal problems.
"Let PDI members decide for themselves how to settle their problems, including who is to be chosen as chairperson," they said in a statement.
The students also called on the government and the people to let the party consolidate its members. (imn/har/23)