PDI Perjuangan tells members to vote in Sutiyoso or else

PDI Perjuangan tells members to vote in Sutiyoso or else

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Central Executive Board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) threatened to impose harsh sanctions,
including termination of party membership, against its City
Councillors who defy party instructions to reelect the incumbent
Governor Sutiyoso.

"We have to uphold the organization's regulations and orders.
Those who defy them will be sanctioned," chairman of PDI
Perjuangan faction at City Council, Agung Imam Sumanto, told
reporters after a late evening meeting last Friday.

"Those who defy the orders are defectors and traitors."

The party's central executive board invited Sutiyoso and Fauzi
Bowo to a meeting at Borobudur Hotel, Central Jakarta last Friday
night. PDI Perjuangan renominated Sutiyoso while Fauzi is
expected to serve as Sutiyoso's vice governor.

The meeting was the first of its kind in that the candidate
was summoned by a political party just several days before
election day.

The sanctions may befall party chapter chairman Tarmidi
Suhardjo, who is also a deputy City Council speaker and included
among the seven pairings of gubernatorial candidates, and
councillor Dadang Hamdani.

They both defied chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri who had
instructed the faction to renominate Sutiyoso, a retired
lieutenant general, despite strong rejection from some party
members and the public in general.

The public has condemned Sutiyoso, not just as a City Military
Commander during the July 27, 1996 incident, but also because he
was already announced as a suspect in the incident, when a group
of military and civilian opponents of Megawati attacked the
party's headquarters in Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, on July
27, 1996.

PDI Perjuangan's members have been opposing Sutiyoso ever
since the tragedy.

Earlier, the party's Jakarta chapter had vowed that its
candidates would have no connection to the military and party
members as well. The chapter had named 11 candidates but most of
them withdrew because of Megawati's instruction.

Agung, however, said that the faction was solid to reelect
Sutiyoso saying that there were only four councillors that were
not attending the meeting.

"We did not invite Tarmidi and Dadang as it is already clear
that they are 'over there'. Two other councillors were not here
because they are sick".

"The two, Ugiek Sugihardjo and Soepangat, have told us that
they cannot attend the meeting due to their health."

The closed meeting was heavily guarded although it was dubbed
a silaturahmi "get together" session. There were at least seven
security guards standing by near the function room.

Also present at the meeting were party officials from the
South, North, and West Jakarta branches.

At the end of the meeting, Sutiyoso gave orange Persija soccer
club T-shirts and caps to those attending the meeting.

Agung told reporters after the meeting that the party was only
asking for a commitment from Sutiyoso and Fauzi once they were
elected.

"PDI Perjuangan wants them to uphold the state's integrity and
preserve the state's ideology.

"Meanwhile, our faction in the City Council wants them to give
more attention to the public in general by providing more free
services, especially in the education and health sectors," he
said.

Agung also said that the PDI Perjuangan faction demanded that
Sutiyoso pay more attention to the current poor condition of
public transportation and to begin the construction of low-cost
apartments.

The faction also urged Sutiyoso to have closer cooperation
with other provincial administrations to reduce the high rate of
migration into the city.

"It will do a lot to reduce migration if Jakarta also helps
increase the other provinces' economic growth," said Agung.