No govt recognition of faction needed: Megawati
JAKARTA (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Monday that her faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) no longer required the government's legal recognition and that she would continue with a planned party congress in Bali.
While opening a seminar focusing on PDI concepts in legal, political, educational and economical development, Megawati said she had had enough of the government's inconsistencies in handling the PDI leadership rift.
"I was recognized by the government when I was elected party chairwoman in 1993. Then I was neglected, re-recognized and then neglected again," she said.
"We don't want to get trapped in the government's legal wrangling anymore and are now obliged to help settle the nation's problems."
"We'll therefore hold a party congress from Oct. 8 to Oct. 10 in Bali," she told the seminar's 2,000 participants.
Separately, the PDI secretary-general loyal to Megawati, Alexander Litaay, said 90 percent of the congress' preparation had been completed.
"The 310 PDI chapters and 1,100 participants have already registered," he told reporters at the National Police headquarters on Monday.
As of Monday, the government had yet to decide whether it would grant a permit for the congress.
"Just wait for our decision. The question of the permit for Megawati's PDI congress is now being discussed," Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto said after briefing participants of a course at the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), a military think tank, on Monday.
Similarly, Lemhanas governor Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar said the permit was now being considered at the Armed Forces headquarters.
"The permit is now being discussed. Just wait for the completion of the discussion," Agum said after addressing a dialog on the future of the Armed Forces' political policies held by the Surabaya-based Airlangga State University on Monday.
Government critic and former minister of transmigration, Siswono Yudhohusodo, said the government should allow Megawati to hold the congress.
Strong support
"Megawati's PDI has existed up to now and she has strong support from PDI cadres nationwide. The government must, therefore, grant her the permit to hold the congress," he told reporters in Semarang on Monday.
Similar calls were also aired on Monday by former Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Harsudiyono Hartas and rector of the Purwokerto-based Jenderal Soedirman State University, Rubiyanto Misman.
"Why doesn't the government just let her hold the congress?" Harsudiyono said.
Rubiyanto acknowledged the possibility that unrest might erupt if the government did not grant the permit.
The chairman of the government-recognized PDI, Budi Hardjono, said on Monday that he would not mobilize his supporters to try to disrupt Megawati's congress.
"Have a successful congress. We will not come and throw eggs at the congress participants," he told reporters after meeting President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace.
Budi said his camp would concentrate on consolidating its own organization and forget for the time being any attempts to reconciliate with Megawati's faction.
Budi, who was elected PDI chairman in a government-sponsored congress in Palu late last month, cited his failure to secure Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization chairman Abdurrahman Wahid's help to mediate the leadership dispute.
"Gus Dur (Abdurrahman's popular name) has no authority to act as a mediator in PDI's internal dispute," Budi said while quoting Abdurrahman's reply a few days after the Palu congress.
Abdurrahman has for years been a close ally of Megawati.
In a related development, Bali Governor Dewa Made Beratha denied reports that the provincial administration had provided financial assistance to PDI congress organizers.
"We will only provide security protection for the congress, but not money," he said as quoted by Antara on Monday.
Beratha called on PDI members and congress participants to help maintain security and order during the planned three-day congress.
"Security affairs during the congress should be the collective responsibility of the government, the people and the congress organizers," he said. (imn/emf/har/45/nur)