Megawati to fight against govt's recognition of Budi

Megawati to fight against govt's recognition of Budi

JAKARTA (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri, the popular ousted
leader of the divided Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), is
preparing an information campaign to force President B.J.
Habibie's administration to overturn its recognition of the new
party chairman elected at a recent congress.

Megawati supporter Kwik Kian Gie blasted the government for
recognizing Budi Hardjono as the new chairman despite being aware
that the congress in Palu, Central Sulawesi, did not represent
the majority of PDI members.

Kwik said they would organize the campaign in both local and
international fora.

"We'll continue our campaign until Habibie's administration
changes its decision or until it falls because of strong pressure
from the local and international communities," he said.

He said Megawati would also campaign against the poor
performance of the judiciary and its dependence on the executive
power in the country, he said.

Kwik pointed to the recent Supreme Court ruling which closed
all legal channels to Megawati in her battle against her ousting
by the government as an example of the poor performance of the
judiciary.

Kwik, who is deputy chairman of Megawati's executive board,
said the camp was continuing with preparations for its own
congress later this year.

"We have only to decide whether to hold it in Yogyakarta or
Bali," he added.

Megawati was ousted by Soerjadi in a government-backed
breakaway congress in Medan, North Sumatra, in June 1996. She
responded by challenging the validity of her dismissal through
the congress by filing dozens of lawsuits at district courts
around the country.

A number of political observers gave their support to
Megawati's planned campaign yesterday.

"The easiest thing for the government to do is to dismiss the
newly elected PDI leadership and recognize Megawati as the
party's legitimate chairperson," Riswandha Imawan from Gadjah
Mada University School of Social and Political Sciences said in
Yogyakarta yesterday.

"If the government was to recognize Megawati it would
automatically settle the PDI's internal problems and at the same
time restore political credibility to Habibie's administration,"
he said.

He pointed out that many of the pro-Soerjadi PDI chapters have
either disbanded or changed their stance and come out in support
of Megawati.

"The majority of PDI members support Megawati but not Budi
Hardjono or Soerjadi," he said.

Dimyati Hartono, a political observer from the University of
Indonesia, said separately that the government's recognition of
Budi Hardjono's leadership would not affect the popularity of
Megawati.

"Megawati will remain very influential. The next general
election will prove her popularity," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid dismissed a
news report that he had personally funded the Palu congress.

"It would be unreasonable for me to use my own money to
support the congress," he told reporters after installing Dewa
Made Beratha as Bali's new governor at a ceremony in Denpasar
yesterday.

"It would be better for me to use my money to buy a Balinese
statue than to finance the congress," he said as quoted by
Antara. (imn/har)