PDI accuses East Java govt of meddling
PDI accuses East Java govt of meddling
JAKARTA (JP): The minority Indonesian Democratic Party plans to file a formal complaint with the Minister of Home Affairs to protest the East Java governor's meddling in its internal affairs.
Officials of the nationalist-Christian alliance condemned the East Java government yesterday for forbidding party chief Megawati Soekarnoputri from meeting her party members in the province.
Leaders from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) met here yesterday to discuss recent bans on Megawati from holding "constitutional gatherings" in East Java. They subsequently decided to lodge a formal protest with Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S. Memet.
In a letter soon to be forwarded to Yogie, the party leaders also called on the provincial administration to "stop arbitrary actions...and meddling in the party's internal affairs".
Secretary-General Alexander Litaay said the meeting also protested the East Java authorities who barred Megawati, yet allowed her arch rival, Latief Pudjosakti, to hold a meeting attended by some 2,000.
Megawati was prevented from taking part in a commemoration of Kartini Day -- Indonesia's version of Women's Day -- in Kediri, recently. They would not be able to manage security, the authorities said, as the gathering would be attended by a great number of party activists.
The incident was the latest in a series of obstacles that the party and its leaders have encountered from the provincial authorities. Governor Basofi Sudirman has time and again asserted that he did not take sides in the dissension plaguing PDI's provincial chapter.
PDI's East Java chapter, for instance, was once prevented from holding a meeting to inaugurate Sutjipto as its new chairman. The authorities declared Sutjipto's election to be "unconstitutional" and PDI's provincial leadership to still be in the hands of Latief Pudjosakti.
Shortly after the incident in Kediri, the authorities allowed Megawati's rivals to hold a meeting of 2,000 people, at which they appointed rival chapter leadership.
The meeting was also attended by Sidoarjo Regent Edi Sanyoto, who reports to Basofi. Some activists reportedly unfurled banners and posters insulting Megawati and her leadership.
Litaay accused the authorities of "directly and indirectly allowing activities which discredit PDI and prevent the party's constitutional attempts to consolidate".
"We all know that one constitutional meeting was denied a permit," Litaay said, "while another meeting whose organizer is illegal was dubious was allowed, and even attended by government officials."
The strongly-worded protest of Yogie also contains the party's demand that the provincial administration stop actions that could worsen the political situation, which, in turn, could disrupt national stability and development.
The party is calling on Yogie to heed their protest and take appropriate measures against the officials responsible for allowing the rival leadership meeting to take place.
A similar protest was made by former chairman Soerjadi, who called on the government not to intervene too much in the party's internal affairs.
Copies of the letter are also to be sent to, among others, Minister of Security and Defense Gen. Edi Sudrajat and Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Soesilo Soedarman.
Litaay said the party has twice sent letters of protest, though not as strongly-worded, to the National Police Chief.
The PDI central executive board yesterday also ordered its House of Representatives members to bring the matters up in their hearings with the government.
Litaay promised that PDI still has something up its sleeve if the government ignores their protest. "We'll do something, but it's still a secret. We'll wait first," he said.
Also at the meeting, Megawati reminded PDI faction members to consistently side with the people, and to show this commitment in their actions.
She also called on them to monitor the growing dissension spreading through various regions. (swe/har)