PDI camps press claims of support

JAKARTA (JP): Two rival camps in the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) yesterday disputed each other's claims of having strong support in the region as the breakaway group forged ahead with preparations for a new congress to settle the leadership question.

Kwik Kian Gie, head of PDI's research and development agency, called a media conference at the party's headquarters yesterday to challenge the breakaway group's claim that it has massive support in the region to call for a congress.

"Their plan to hold the congress has no legality," Kwik, a loyal supporter of PDI chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, said.

Kwik, who was accompanied by secretary-general Alexander Litaay and deputy secretary-general Haryanto Taslam, said the claim that 215 branches wanted the congress was a grossly inflated figure.

His investigation found that only 141 of the party's 305 branches throughout the country have written in to the Central Executive Board. Of these, 103 wanted a congress and 38 did not.

Even among the 103 who demanded a congress, their letters were defective: some had forged signatures, and others were signed by only one branch official instead of two, as required.

Meanwhile, Ismunandar, a member of the breakaway group, called his own media briefing last night at the posh Manari Restaurant to counter Kwik's claim as well as give details about the preparations for the congress.

Ismunandar claimed the 215 branches were real and that he could prove it. "The congress is valid," he said.

Congress

The PDI constitution states that an extraordinary congress could only be held if more than half of the branches demanded it.

Ismunandar said the exact venue and time of the congress has not yet been determined, refuting earlier press reports that it was going to be held in Medan, North Sumatra, on June 20.

He said the organizers are still considering four cities to host the venue: Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, Manado in North Sulawesi, Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, or Medan.

The date would be sometime between June 19 and 25, he said.

The conflict has split the 27-member PDI central executive board into two camps. The splinter group, comprising 16 people, is headed by Fatimah Achmad, one of several deputies to Megawati. Ten board members, including Kwik, remain loyal to Megawati.

Violent attacks on some members of the breakaway group forced them to set up their own headquarters at the Wisata Hotel, as they prepared for the congress.

Ismunandar said that despite their breaking away, they continued to regard Megawati as the party's leader, at least until the congress decided otherwise.

He said that funding for the congress would be collected through mutual help.

Many political analysts said the planned congress, which appeared to have the support of the government and the military, was aimed at removing Megawati from the political equation ahead of next year's election and the 1998 presidential election.

Kwik urged the military and the government to study his findings before giving their support one way or another in the dispute, because officials have said they supported the planned congress "provided that it was in line with PDI's constitution."

"We don't want to be blamed for fabricating stories about the validity of the support from the region," he said.

He added that those branches who are demanding the congress made their decision unilaterally without consulting the party's rank-and-file members. Such an issue should, he argued, be decided through a local congress.

Meanwhile, Megawati on Thursday issued a five-point instruction calling on all PDI members and supporters to remain calm and not be swayed by pressure to support the planned congress, which she said is unlawful.

"Please be assured that the New Order government and the Armed Forces will not tolerate attempts by anyone to force their will on others because that totally goes against the morality of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution," according to a statement, a copy of which was made available yesterday.

Messages of support for Megawati continued to pour into the PDI's headquarters yesterday.

Among the supporters was a group of 30 youths who called themselves the People's Democratic Union, who said that they were ready to defend Megawati's leadership against any plot to unseat her.

In Bandung, West Java, Clara Sitompul, another PDI dissident who once planned to hold an extraordinary congress to topple Megawati, said yesterday that she would support Fatimah's camp in holding the congress. "It seems that Fatimah's camp and mine have similar objectives," she said. (imn/01/17)

Fatimah Achmad -- Page 2