PDI and military reach agreement on street rallies
JAKARTA (JP): The embattled executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the Jakarta military command agreed yesterday that, following Thursday's bloody clash in the capital, no more violence would be perpetrated by either side.
PDI deputy secretary-general Haryanto Taslam said at a press conference yesterday evening that a delegation of seven party executives met with the chief of the Jakarta Military Command, Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, at military headquarters in the morning.
"Considering the large number of victims in the clash, we have both agreed that it will never happen again," Haryanto said.
Thousands of Megawati's supporters marched through Central Jakarta on Thursday, demanding that a rebel congress in Medan, North Sumatra, be halted. It culminated in a clash with security forces. The incident left more than 100 people injured.
Haryanto said the PDI delegation gave a guarantee that there would be no more marching by Megawati's supporters. "However, we can continue holding activities at the party's headquarters," he said.
The other members of the delegation included deputy chairmen Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno and I Gusti Ngurah Sara.
During the meeting, Haryanto said, Sutiyoso agreed to act as mediator and deliver the board's opposition to the congress to certain government officials.
As quoted by Haryanto, Sutiyoso also confirmed that no PDI members and supporters would be prohibited from entering the party's headquarters, as it remains the office of the legitimate leadership under Megawati.
"We also told Sutiyoso that Megawati's leadership would end in 1998 and any congress held before then is illegal," he said.
The central board claimed yesterday that 73 of its supporters were injured in the clash, five others are still hospitalized and 48 other supporters were being detained at the Jakarta Police detention center.
On Thursday, the board also said that one supporter died in the clash. Yesterday, however, Haryanto said the board had not received an official report on the person who reportedly died.
The military has said it knew of no civilian casualties but that stone-throwing demonstrators injured about 50 soldiers.
Separately yesterday, the embattled party chief, Megawati Soekarnoputri, accused the government of trying to discredit her and her party. She vowed to continue to head the party and fight for democracy.
"I am still the democratically elected chairwoman of PDI, who continues to receive the people's support and that of PDI chapters throughout Indonesia," Megawati said in a statement read out by party executive Kwik Kian Gie.
She pledged that as PDI leader she would continue to fight for democracy and uphold people's sovereignty.
She said that the government's attempt to stifle the people's democratic aspirations would cause unrest, which will be very disruptive of law and order.
Megawati also accused the government of implanting agent provocateurs among the mass of demonstrators on Thursday. These agents, she said, initiated the stone-throwing at the troops which led to the violent clash.
"The government has used all the powers and means at its disposal to try to discredit any and all pro-democratic supporters," she said.
Megawati said the government-sanctioned campaign to unseat her has been characterized by "a multiplicity of illegal and unconstitutional acts".
She cited the active participation of high ranking government officials and some members of the military in helping to plan and execute the campaign against her.
She repeated the party's belief that it could garner up to 85 percent of the vote in a free and fair election. She also called for a joint domestic and international commission to assess and monitor elections in Indonesia.
The commission should include members of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights, and other human rights watchdogs, Megawati said. (imn/jun/20/swe/anr)