Megawati urges political reform

JAKARTA (JP): Ousted chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri commemorated the fourth anniversary of her leadership yesterday, calling for immediate political reform.

In a gathering attended by 300 people at her residence in South Jakarta, Megawati also called for a stop to violations of the law.

"Return the laws that protect people's sovereignty," she said. "Establish a clean and respected government."

Megawati was democratically elected in the 1993 PDI congress in December in Surabaya, East Java. She was toppled in June last year in a splinter group's congress backed by the government.

Her opponents elected former chairman Soerjadi in Megawati's place. Ever since, Megawati has been battling her ouster in court.

In her scathing message yesterday evening, Megawati drew people's attention to what she described as "the crisis of the nation" which emerged because Indonesia failed to address fundamental flaws wisely, thoroughly and in a spirit of togetherness.

"Too many things have been covered up, manipulated, so that people are no longer able to discern right from wrong, to know their rights and their responsibilities," she said.

In her evaluation of the past year, she said some parties had tried to turn President Soeharto into a cult figure. The attempt had been made openly, and denied as openly, she said.

"In consequence, every aspect of this nation's life becomes unhealthy as everything depends only on one individual, President Soeharto," she said.

"This happens because most of us do not care that President Soeharto has led the country for 32 years, a very long period of time, (as if) denying nature that with the advancement of age, a person's health and capability decline," she said.

"Without realizing it, we have become inhumane, because we continue to burden and place too great a responsibility on President Soeharto, and ignore the fact that he is just a human being," she said.

She also said that turning Soeharto into a cult figure and forcing him to remain president during the current economic crisis, was an egotistical action, committed by a group of people seeking to further their own interest.

"This is a deplorable stance, because it aims only to maintain the opportunity to amass wealth at the suffering of many people," she said.

Megawati said she had deliberately kept quiet in the past few months to give the government and the Armed Forces the opportunity to solve various problems.

"Had an end to the monetary crisis been guaranteed, including ways to improve our economy and save if from being crippled, I might have chosen to keep on being silent... even though it pains me," she said.

"But the question is, are there and were there any guarantees?" (imn/swe)