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)