PBR leaders bury hatchet

JAKARTA: The internal dispute within the Reform Star Party (PBR) has ended after rival leaders Zainuddin MZ and Zaenal Ma'arif agreed to reconcile and form a new board of executives approved by the two camps.

Mediator of the reconciliation, Aksa Mahmud, said on Monday that a meeting he hosted on Sunday at his official residence resulted in an deal to name three representatives from each camp to select the party executives, hopefully within a week.

The two factions also recognized the results of PBR congress early this year, which reelected Zainuddin the party leader for 2005-2010 period. Zainuddin's reelection was the source of the conflict, with Zaenal, who lost in the race, accusing Zainuddin of vote buying.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is Golkar Party leader, had offered himself to mediate between the disputing camps and hosted two rounds of peace talks on July 3 and July 10, before he delegated the job to Aksa, who is also a Golkar member. -- Antara