PDI to hold congress in Palu this month

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)