PDI branches turn to Basofi for help

PDI branches turn to Basofi for help

JAKARTA (JP): Thirty one of the 37 branches of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) in East Java have asked the province's
governor, Basofi Soedirman, to step in if PDI headquarters in
Jakarta can't resolve the leadership conflict in the region.

Leaders of the 31 PDI branches have written to Governor
Basofi, with copies going to party headquarters and a number of
government and military agencies, stating their position.

The East Java chapter of the PDI has been rocked by division
between those supporting the leadership of Megawati Soekarnoputri
and those who oppose her. The conflict began at a PDI congress in
East Java to elect its regional leaders in January. It ended in a
deadlock when Megawati annulled the election and appointed her
own man to lead the chapter.

Megawati's camp has already accused Basofi of intervening in
the party's internal affairs by supporting and legitimizing her
opponents in East Java.

Seven leaders, claiming to represent the 31 branches, met with
Basofi yesterday to ask him to intervene if the party leaders in
Jakarta couldn't resolve the problem by the end of the month,
Antara reported.

The 31 branch leaders demanded that Megawati rescind her
letter appointing Soetjipto as the chairman of the party's
chapter in East Java and endorse the election of Latief
Pudjosakti.

Latief is known to be a staunch critic of Megawati.

"If by the end of September the Central Executive Board cannot
resolve the problem, we are turning over the matter to the
Governor of East Java in his capacity as the chief political
supervisor of the province," the letter stated.

Sanny Setiadi, chairman of Tulungagung branch and one of the
seven who attended yesterday's meeting, said that with general
elections less than two years away, time is fast running out for
the chapter to resolve its internal conflict.

"How can we ensure a successful election in 1997 if the
problem is not settled?" he asked.

Basofi said he planned to write to the PDI headquarters as
soon as possible to appeal to them to work towards a consensus.
"Everyone involved must not stick firmly to their position and
demands for the sake of (the party's) unity."

Asked by reporters whether this amounted to intervention, he
said "Of course, but that's because we were asked to. If we
didn't intervene, what else is there left? Without a meeting,
this problem won't be resolved. Whatever happens, there must be a
meeting between the conflicting parties to work towards a
consensus."

Sanny said government intervention was "not necessarily" a bad
thing although it might leave the impression that PDI is not
independent. (emb)