PDI board urged to sue meddling government
PDI board urged to sue meddling government
JAKARTA (JP): A senior legislator urged the executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) yesterday to settle it's conflict with the government over the East Java leadership rift in court.
Aberson Marle Sihaloho proposed that the PDI sue President Soeharto, Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. and East Java governor Basofi Soedirman at the State Administrative court.
The officials, Aberson said, should be charged with disrespecting the PDI's internal rules, on the pretext that the government is the "patron" of domestic political development.
"The government has no right to dismiss a political organization's rules and declare them invalid. Beside, the decree it uses as the legal basis for it's role as the patron of political development is questionable," he told The Jakarta Post.
The minority party and the government have been at odds after Basofi rejected PDI chief Megawati Soekarnoputri's appointment of Sutjipto as the party's East Java chapter in 1994 to replace the outgoing Latief Pudjosakti.
The conflict has been deepening after Basofi excluded the PDI from the East Java electoral committee because both Sutjipto and Latief claimed they are the legitimate local party chief.
While Megawati insists that there is no problem with the East Java party leadership, the government maintains that her decision to name Sutjipto is invalid.
Aberson, known as a supporter of Megawati, pointed out that the President, the minister and the governor should be sued all together, to find out who is in fact responsible.
"So far, the minister and the governor have kept saying that they were just taking orders," he said.
He pointed out that a 1986 government decree used as the legal basis for the legitimization of the minister as the patron in political development is questionable.
"The 1985 law on political organizations does not empower the minister in this way. Now let's have the State Administrative Court decides whose interpretation is right," he said.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction in the House expressed concern over the dispute and called on PDI executives and relevant government officials to make peace.
"It's disheartening to see both sides rigidly sticking to their positions," faction chief Suparman Achmad told journalists.
Suparman suggested that the opposing camps call in a neutral mediator to seek the best solution. (pan)
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