PDI hopes Soeharto will open congress in June

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the government-recognized executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) expressed hope yesterday that President Soeharto would be willing to open the party's congress in June.

Soerjadi said 1,000 representatives of PDI's branches across the country would attend the congress.

"We will meet with the President at an appropriate time after we complete all the necessary preparations," Soerjadi said after reporting the party's plan to hold the congress to Minister/State Secretary Saadilah Mursjid at the State Secretariat yesterday.

Accompanied by four other party executives, Soerjadi met with the minister to request financial assistance from the presidential aid fund (Banpres).

Soerjadi ousted Megawati Soekarnoputri as the party leader in a government-backed breakaway congress in Medan, North Sumatra, in June 1996.

The party won only 11 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) in the 1997 general election, a drastic decrease compared to its 52 seats in the 1992 election.

Megawati, the eldest daughter of the country's first president, Sukarno, said Wednesday that she would hold her own congress in December.

Megawati was elected to lead the party in December 1993 despite strong attempts by some government officials to block her bid. After she was ousted in 1996, she launched a massive legal campaign to have the court declare the Medan congress unlawful. She also embarked on a crusade against many government economic and political policies.

The government has repeatedly said it only recognizes the PDI under Soerjadi.

"We are still trying to find a suitable venue for the congress and low-cost factors have become an important consideration," Soerjadi said.

He acknowledged that the government was the only financial source for the party. The government provided Rp 1.4 billion (US$175,000) for the 1996 congress.

Minister of Home Affairs R. Hartono told Soerjadi on Tuesday that the government would not be able to provide the same amount of money for the upcoming congress.

Hartono also indicated the government would not interfere in the party's internal affairs. (prb)