PDI to sue govt over congress
PDI to sue govt over congress
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
Megawati Soekarnoputri announced yesterday she would sue the
government for endorsing a splinter group's plan to hold a
congress.
Breaking her characteristic silence, maintained in the face of
sustained pressure over the past weeks, she told local and
foreign reporters here yesterday that the planned congress -- at
which a fresh chairperson election is supposed to be held -- was
unconstitutional and violated the party's statutes.
"Any request for a congress should have been made through the
party's chairperson. The request should also have been made by
majority of the party's 306 branches," she pointed out.
In addition, "no congress can be held within a five-year
period of leadership," she explained, quoting the party's 1994
statutes.
She said she has requested the assistance of the Foundation of
the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) for the planned case.
However, "we won't file the lawsuit if the congress does not
take place," she added.
Senior government officials kept mum yesterday. Minister/State
Secretary Moerdiono and Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M.
refused to comment about the deepening rift in the PDI.
The preparations for the congress, initiated by members of the
breakaway group and led by deputy chairperson Fatimah Achmad,
however, continued. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Nurfaizi
told The Jakarta Post that the police had approved the congress.
The organizing committee made the request for a permit last
Saturday.
However, Nurfaizi declined to name the venue or a firm date
for the congress to be held, two snippets of information which
would have been included in the request.
The committee has said that it has yet to decide whether to
hold the congress in Medan, North Sumatra, or Palangkaraya in
Central Kalimantan. It has fixed June 19 to 25 as the dates.
Yesterday, Yogie declined to say whether he backed the
splinter group' undertaking.
"You should ask the organizing committee that," he was quoted
by Antara as saying, then refused any further comment. Yogie had
earlier said that, if invited, he would attend the congress.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono only had to say that he has
not received any requests for a meeting with President Soeharto
from either Megawati or the breakaway group.
In the press conference for Jakarta's foreign correspondents,
Megawati clarified the party's position on the Indonesian
political scene. In a statement read out by treasurer Laksamana
Sukardi, Megawati said the party would sweep to victory if next
year's general election were really free and fair.
"We are convinced that if a fair and open election was held,
the PDI would get 80-85 percent of the vote," she said.
She rejected speculations that the party planned to mobilize
the masses to voice Indonesian society's support for the
implementation of democratic principles and practices.
"If we decided to, we could bring tens of millions of people
into the streets of every major city and town in the country,"
her statement said, adding that the support would come from
members of the country's 4,000 non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), students, farmers and the middle class.
The party has decided against any radical action for the
moment "to prevent bloodshed" and to preserve public order, she
said.
"We prefer to correct the irregularities and unfairness
through constructive means," she said.
Megawati said that the party's ability to mobilize pro-
democracy support could close thousands of factories, offices and
schools nationwide and "bring normal activities to a halt."
In the statement, Megawati accused the military of having
supported the breakaway faction to create instability within the
party and labeled it "a very dangerous precedent for democracy."
"There are individuals within the Armed Forces who have played
an active role in encouraging people to ask for a congress, that
is beyond doubt," she charged.
She also criticized the way the election was set up, saying
that if the elections were fair and open, government employees
and military personnel -- and their families -- would not be
bullied and intimidated into casting their votes for Golkar.
The party suggested that the election, scheduled for next
year, would have to be monitored by both international and
domestic supervision teams "to assure fairness."
Megawati declined to confirm that she would run for the
presidential election in 1998, saying that she would make her
statement "when the time is ripe." (imn)