PDI legislator pressured to quit

SEMARANG: About 2,000 supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri gathered in front of the provincial legislature here yesterday to demand the senior Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI) member resign his seat.

"Soemario has to resign, because almost all of the branch heads of Soerjadi's PDI faction in Central Java have already stepped down with some branches even disbanding themselves," Mardijo, a local pro-Megawati leader, said during the demonstration.

"(Central Java) Governor Soewardi must be firm. The pro- Soerjadi camp has no supporters and everyone in Central Java recognizes this," he added.

Soerjadi overthrew Megawati as PDI chief in a government- backed congress in 1996. Megawati, however, maintains that she is still the rightful leader of the party.

Since the resignation of Soeharto in May, Megawati's supporters have been seizing branch offices formerly occupied by Soerjadi's followers. Several PDI legislators formerly siding with Soerjadi have even resigned from their positions.

Mardijo claimed that yesterday's demonstration was a purely spontaneous expression of discontent from people in Central Java and not organized by pro-Megawati PDI executives in Jakarta. (har)