PDI encourages people to speak up

PDI encourages people to speak up

JAKARTA: The minority Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is encouraging people to have the courage to speak up on any government policies that they believe to be contrary to the public interest.

Top PDI officials said in a discussion with members of the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club on Tuesday that Indonesian people were, generally, afraid to speak their minds about politics.

"The core of PDI's programs is to promote people's political awareness so that they will no longer be afraid to express their opinions," said Kwik Kian Gie, chief of the PDI's research and development center.

At the same meeting, Party chief Megawati Soekarnoputri criticized the East Java provincial administration for banning her from meeting with her supporters there. The administration has sought to justify its actions by saying that Megawati's presence in the province would spark clashes between her foes and supporters.

The real reason for the ban, Megawati said, was that the East Java administration, which supports the ruling Golkar party, did not want the PDI to become strong in the province, which has a population of 33.5 million people. (pan)