PDI headquarters takeover to be commemorated today

JAKARTA (JP): The hostile takeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta on July 27, 1996, will be commemorated at Senayan Stadium on Tuesday morning, organizers said.

The head of the organizing committee, Jakob Nuwa Wea, announced on Monday after a meeting with Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman the event would be attended by some 5,000 supporters of the party, which now calls itself the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

However, Nuwa Wea said organizers could not guarantee the number of people attending the ceremony would not exceed the 5,000 suggested by Noegroho.

"As you already know, every time PDI Perjuangan holds an event people always flock to it," he said.

Separately, Noegroho said the ceremony was not a political campaign and he therefore expected PDI Perjuangan to limit the number of people in attendance.

Nuwa Wea said his party did not intend to gather en masse and party supporters were well disciplined.

"PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri will also attend the gathering," he said.

This is the first year the party, which was not recognized by Soeharto's administration, is being allowed to commemorate the anniversary of the takeover.

City police refused to issue a permit for a ceremony last year, saying such an event could cause riots.

PDI Perjuangan security personnel will assist the police in handling security during Tuesday's ceremony.

Nuwa Wea said the party, which garnered the most votes in the recent general election, would deploy 1,000 of its security personnel at the event. It will also post 100 of its security personnel at Megawati's former office on Jl. Diponegoro.

Police have not disclosed how many officers they will assign to the gathering.

A 1996 government-sponsored PDI congress in the North Sumatran capital of Medan named Soerjadi as the party's chairman, replacing Megawati, who was said to be incapable of solving the party's internal problems.

This led to the July 27, 1996, takeover of the PDI headquarters, which was still occupied by Megawati and her supporters. The building then became the headquarters of the government-supported PDI led by Soerjadi.

The commemoration of the incident will begin at 10 a.m., and will feature Koran recitals, prayers and a speech by Megawati.

Meanwhile, 12 people from the Indonesian Democracy Defense Team urged the police to bring to court all of the police and military generals involved in the 1996 takeover, including then minister of defense and security/Indonesian Armed Forces commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung, then ABRI's head of social and political affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, then National Police chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo, then city police chief Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata and then Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, who is now Jakarta governor.

The group claims the military and police did nothing to prevent the bloody clash between Soerjadi and Megawati's supporters. Five people died, 149 were injured and 23 went missing in the incident. (03)