PDI to hold congress in Palu this month

JAKARTA (JP): The executive board of the government-backed Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) announced yesterday it would hold its congress in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu from Aug. 26 through Aug. 30.

The secretary of the congress' steering committee, Andi Chairul Muis Manggabarani, said in Palu yesterday the committee had invited President B.J. Habibie to officially open the gathering. He claimed the congress would be attended by 1,000 members from 27 chapters and 312 branch offices.

Andi, a loyalist of the government-recognized chairman Soerjadi, said several cabinet ministers, including Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Feisal Tanjung, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid would address the congress.

He said important agenda items would be a discussion about ways to effect a reconciliation between the conflicting factions in the tiny party.

"Since the reconciliation of PDI is important for the future of the nation, we hope that Ibu Mega (Megawati Soekarnoputri) can attend the congress," Andi said, as quoted by Antara.

Megawati was ousted in a government-sanction dissenters' congress in June 1996, and replaced by Soerjadi.

Megawati, who still insists she is the legitimate PDI leader, has launched dozens of lawsuits challenging the validity of the 1996 congress. Most of the cases are currently being heard at courts of appeal across the country.

Megawati claims that her five-year term does not end until December.

The deputy secretary-general of Megawati's faction, Haryanto Taslam, doubted the congress would proceed smoothly.

"I think Andi Chairul Muis is daydreaming. Can he guarantee that the congress will be attended by the PDI members?" he told The Jakarta Post.

"They must be realistic, they have practically no support from PDI members," he said.

He said that most PDI chapters and branch offices had disappeared. They had either been dissolved by the PDI members themselves, by the security forces, or by the general public

"I doubt they would be able to mobilize supporters from across the country, even with the help of the security apparatus, to attend the congress."

"Indonesia will be the laughingstock of the world community, if they repeated what they did in the 1996 congress," he said. (imn)