Megawati's supporters plan rally
JAKARTA (JP): Supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri plan to stage a rally of some 200,000 people in Jakarta this month to show their support to the embattled chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party, an aide said yesterday.
Suparlan, a deputy in the PDI central executive board and a loyal Megawati supporter, said the rally will be held at the National Monument (Monas) Square in Central Jakarta.
"We expect some 200,000 people, mostly from branches in Java, to turn up," Suparlan told reporters yesterday.
He did not give a date for the assembly, other than saying that it would be held before the splinter PDI group, which is challenging Megawati's leadership, holds its congress.
The 28-strong PDI central board was split into two camps last week. One group of 16 members led by deputy Fatimah Achmad is planning to organize an extraordinary congress supposedly to put Megawati's leadership to the test. The other camp is opposing the congress, which it has insisted has no legality whatsoever.
As of yesterday, the Fatimah camp had yet to set a firm date and venue for the congress. Its officials said the congress will be held some time between June 19 and June 25, with the venue either Medan, North Sumatra; Bukittinggi, West Sumatra; Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, or Manado, North Sulawesi.
The government has given the greenlight to the planned congress and the military has promised it will provide the necessary security to ensure a successful meeting.
Plot
Some political analysts believe the congress is a plot aimed at removing Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, from the political equation altogether before the 1997 general election and the 1998 presidential election.
The breakaway group said it has a mandate from 215 of the 306 PDI branches to organize the congress, a claim that has been widely disputed by supporters of Megawati.
By regulation, an extraordinary congress can be held if half of the party's branches demand it.
Suparlan said any of Megawati's supporters wanting to take part in the rally will be asked to gather at PDI's headquarters in Jl. Diponegoro before marching towards Monas Square.
Asked about the likelihood of a clampdown by the military given that a large assembly has always been considered as threatening national stability, Suparlan said the supporters were ready to face the consequences.
"We have considered all the risks we're facing," he said.
Suparlan said his camp is prepared to call off the rally if the government withdraws its support for the splinter group and bans the congress.
Meanwhile, preparations for the congress continued at full steam yesterday.
Ismunandar, the secretary of the congress' organizing committee, was in Palangkaraya and will be heading for Manado today to check on the prospective venues. Ismunandar and Fatimah had traveled to Medan and Bukittinggi on a similar mission.
"We will decide on the venue and date in a meeting tomorrow," Ismunandar told The Jakarta Post by phone last night. (imn)