Parties promise peaceful campaign period
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
All political parties contesting the elections pledged on Tuesday to put aside their differences to promote a peaceful campaign period from March 11 to April 1.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary- general Soetjipto, Crescent Star Party chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono were among the top politicians issuing the joint declaration.
"We agree on a spirit of peace, as no party wants bloodshed during the campaigns," Soetjipto told reporters after the declaration was read at the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Central Jakarta.
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti, accompanied by KPU members such as Chusnul Mar'iyah, Mulyana W. Kusumah and Daan Dimara, hosted the joint declaration.
Representatives of 23 parties contesting the polls attended the gathering, excluding the Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party.
Last October, supporters of PDI-P and Golkar clashed in Bali, leaving two dead, after which leaders of the two parties met for reconciliatory talks.
Electoral campaigns have usually caused the public to be wary, as they tended to turn violent. The security fear was also felt in the stock market, weakening the Jakarta index and the rupiah rate against the greenback.
Noted poet Taufik Ismail, who attended Tuesday's gathering, recalled the country's first election in 1955 as the most peaceful.
Golkar's Agung said the campaigns would run peacefully, even without such a declaration.
"No one here wants to win the election through inappropriate means," he said.
Election Supervisory Committee member Topo Santoso said the responsibility of conducting a peaceful campaign period would rest not only with party leaders, but also party members.
"Party leaders will set a model. If they refrain from violence, they will send a message of peace to their supporters," he said.
Earlier in the day, a group of Muslim leaders, organizations and politicians called on the people to exercise their right to vote and to maintain peace during the elections, while urging people to vote for politicians with good track records.
"We all agree that the 2004 elections must be peaceful and produce qualified leaders," Hussein Umar of the Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation said at Istiqlal Mosque.
Also present at the event were Islam Defenders Front chairman Mohammad Rizieq Shihab, Reform Star Party chairman Zainuddin MZ, Crescent Star Party deputy chairman Ahmad Sumargono, Indonesian Ulemas Council deputy chairman Amidhan and dangdut singer Rhoma Irama.
PDI-P legislator Arismunandar and Golkar legislator Tutty Alawiyah were also present.
Zainuddin, also a renowned Muslim cleric, said the forum would be maintained to discuss the nomination of a presidential candidate, and hoped Islamic political parties would first discuss their political goals together.
"In the next step, we hope the parties will come up with one definite presidential candidate," he said Zainuddin.
Separately, KPU deputy secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo said that several ballot paper tender winners had quitted their contracted task to print 75 million papers for the regental/municipal legislative election.
"They have no capacity to complete the job by March 17," he said.
He added that the KPU had appointed other companies to take over the job, including Metro Pos, a winner of the tender to print voter registration forms.