Parties accused of extortion in Medan

Parties accused of extortion in Medan

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople in North Sumatra have alleged
that political party activists are extorting money from them
ahead of the 2004 elections.

The businesspeople said they were intimidated by the activists
into giving them money.

Businessman Vincent Wijaya said some of the political
activists in question freely admitted that they had asked him for
donations to help finance campaigns ahead of next year's
elections.

He said this had been taking place for months, adding that
many other Chinese-Indonesians had similar grievances.

"Many businesspeople have been asked to donate up to tens of
millions of rupiah. If they (extorters) are not given the amount
they demand, they intimidate us," Vincent told The Jakarta Post
on Tuesday.

He declined to identify those involved, but said they included
major political parties.

Vincent said most businesspeople in the North Sumatra capital
Medan had been intimidated into giving donations to party
activists.

"As businesspeople, we don't want to make enemies. That's our
principle. But if asked whether we gave the money sincerely, we
would say no," he said, adding that he received between four and
five proposals for political donations each week.

Vincent demanded that the leaders of the parties in question
put a stop to the practice of extortion.

However, several political leaders in North Sumatra denied
ever ordering activists to seek donations from local
businesspeople.

Serta Ginting, an official with the provincial branch of the
Golkar Party, said his office had never recommended the
collection of money from businesspeople in Medan.

He said it was regrettable if political parties were extorting
businesspeople. "But if there are people voluntarily giving
donations, we cannot refuse it."

Idham Hasibuan, the secretary of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction in the North Sumatra
legislative council, also denied any organized extortion.

He said the provincial chapter of his party had never ordered
members to raise funds for next year's election campaigns.

"As far as I know, PDI Perjuangan has never forced
businesspeople into giving donations. However, the party has many
supporters, many of whom are businesspeople, who often donate
money for our party activities," Idham said.

Commenting on the extortion allegations, the chairman of the
North Sumatra Elections Supervisory Committee, Choking Soesilo
Sakeh, said his office had yet to receive any report on the
matter.

"Any political party found to be collecting donations through
force could be disqualified from the upcoming elections," he
said.

Choking also said a number of parties had begun campaign
activities ahead of schedule and that the committee would
investigate where they were getting the money to finance these
activities.