Megawati supporters warn of disintegration

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)