Partindo reestablished, to join 2004 election

Theresia Maria Sufa and Imanuddin The Jakarta Post Bogor, West Java

Indonesians loyal to the philosophy and the teachings introduced by the country's founding president Sukarno now have an alternative medium to channel their political aspirations in the 2004 general election.

The official establishment of the Indonesian Party (Partindo) 1931 was declared at a ceremony held at the Sera Nusa Hotel in Bogor, 60 kilometers south of Jakarta, on Saturday.

"Partindo is established in an attempt to promote the philosophy and teachings of Sukarno and participate in a national movement to bring the country out of the multi-dimensional crisis," said chairman Soetomo Martopradoto during the ceremony.

Soetomo, who spent six years in jail during the early years of the rule of Soeharto, Sukarno's successor, said Partindo would promote Marhaenism, Sukarno's assessment on socio-nationalism and socio-democracy and the state ideology Pancasila.

He said the party had a connection with Partindo, which was established by Sartono, a Sukarno loyalist, on April 30, 1931 following the arrest of Sukarno by the Dutch colonial rulers in 1929. Sukarno previously chaired the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI).

Sukarno was released from prison in mid 1932 and chose to join Partindo, instead of joining a splinter faction of the PNI, the PNI Baru.

But, along with Sukarno's further arrest in 1936 and the Dutch colonial's repressive approach to any national movements, Partindo officials eventually decided to disband itself in November 1936.

Soetomo said that the party had registered its existence with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and would be ready to participate in the 2004 general election.

Soetomo, who was Labor Minister from 1964 until 1966 under the presidency of Sukarno, claimed that Partindo already had 20 provincial chapters, with 120 branches, nationwide.

If Soetomo's claim that it already had a significant number of provincial chapters and branches was true, Partindo could be a threat to the achievements of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the next election.

Megawati is the eldest daughter of Sukarno. Her party currently controls the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) after winning the 1999 election.