PDI coming of age?
Sighs of relief are no doubt being heaved all across Indonesia, and around the power centers in Jakarta in particular, that the fifth party congress of PDI Perjuangan -- the Megawati- led faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party -- ended in Bali over the weekend without any unrest worth mentioning.
Indeed, instead of turning into an arena of chaos and trouble and scaring away dollar-carrying tourists, as many government officials in Jakarta (though not in Bali) had feared, the event generally proceeded without any major hitches and even provided a welcome additional attraction for visitors to this world-renowned island resort.
That reality could serve as proof that the PDI under Megawati Soekarnoputri's leadership is or at least can be if given the chance, a well-organized and well-disciplined organization, capable of making a valuable contribution to the nation's efforts to build a healthy functioning democracy in this part of the world. To organize an event on such a grand scale and control such huge crowds of fanatical party supporters is certainly no mean feat to accomplish.
Even so, the government's fears of possible public disturbances during the congress in Bali, and the authorities' warnings that the congress organizers would be held responsible for any trouble that might erupt during the event, cannot be simply dismissed as attempts to make things difficult for PDI Perjuangan.
It is after all an undeniable fact that most, if not all, PDI congresses in the past few decades were accompanied by violent clashes between factions. While this was in part a result of the fact that the party was born of a government-imposed fusion of minor parties during the repressive New Order regime, and for another part because of government intervention in the internal affairs of political parties, the fact remains that the violence sparked tension and anxiety in the community.
Given such a background, the smooth running of last week's PDI Perjuangan congress in Bali could be taken as a welcome indication that the party may now, after so many years, finally have outgrown its growing pains. This is not an unreasonable assumption to make since over the years a younger generation of leaders and activists has emerged to blur the old factional lines of division.
To bolster such an assumption, many of the debates that were conducted during the congress and many of the decisions that were taken seem to indicate the party may indeed have ended its long adolescence and begun to emerge as a modern, open party on the Indonesian political stage. Worth mentioning in this context is the realization and the willingness of congress participants to accept that strategic posts such as that of the party's secretary-general should be given to someone with a modern, forward-looking vision and a good comprehension of all the wide- ranging problems of the times.
Of no less importance is the party's willingness to restructure itself in such a way as to enhance its maneuvering agility in view of the upcoming general elections. In many ways the PDI Perjuangan has through this Bali congress effectively dispelled allegations that it is unfit to lead the nation in this modern age of globalization.
After this Bali congress, for certain, it will be impossible for anyone -- the authorities included -- to dismiss PDI Perjuangan as being a minor force whose role in Indonesian politics can be ignored. The party has proven itself worthy of being given its rightful place in society.
On the other hand, this being the indisputable reality, it is part of the newly elected PDI leadership's responsibility to cooperate as much as it can with other political parties and groups as well as with the authorities, in order to establish a better, more democratic Indonesia for this and for future generations of Indonesians. It would be a great pity and a great loss to the nation if the potential of such an impressive organization should be wasted.