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)