PDI hopes Soeharto will open congress in June

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)