PPP opens fourth congress, cadres begin campaigning

PPP opens fourth congress, cadres begin campaigning

JAKARTA (JP): Backed by tens of thousands of cadres and
supporters who subsequently began election campaigning, the
United Development Party (PPP) opened its fourth congress here on
Sunday.

Traffic disruption was so bad that even President B.J. Habibie
got stuck in the congestion.

Some 100,000 party loyalists from Jakarta and surrounding
towns packed the Senayan soccer stadium in Central Jakarta to
attend the congress' opening ceremony.

The official start of the campaign for the general election
due in June has not been announced and is probably months away.
But after the ceremony the PPP supporters, together with many
loyalists who had chosen not to enter the stadium, went on a tour
of the capital.

The streets became so clogged with traffic that Habibie's
motorcade got snarled in the traffic as the President was on his
way to the wedding reception of the daughter of Minister/State
Secretary Akbar Tandjung at the Widya Chandra ministerial housing
complex in South Jakarta.

Wearing green headbands sporting the PPP's new symbol, the
Kaaba, supporters paraded on buses, trucks, minivans and
motorbikes along Jl. Jen. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin in Central
Jakarta and Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan,
South Jakarta. Crowds were also seen around the party
headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro and at the congress site, the
Pondok Gede haj dormitory in East Jakarta.

Former president Soeharto opened the party's previous
congresses but on Sunday PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum took
over the honors. He said the President was invited but declined
to attend, speculating Habibie had other matters to attend to.

Addressing the sea of participants, Ismail called on the
government to comply with the deadline for next year's general
election, now slated for June. "Any deviation in the election
deadline promise is an indication of a return to authoritative
government," he said.

He cited Habibie's two predecessors -- founding president
Sukarno and the "father of development", Soeharto -- who broke
their own promises on general election deadlines.

"Through a 1959 presidential decree, the president promised to
hold a general election in 1962.

"However, he never kept his promise until the 1967 Special
Session of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS),
ousted him from the presidency."

Ismail added that Soeharto, shortly after being installed as
president, promised to hold a general election in 1968 but
delayed the poll until 1971.

In response to widespread demands for the establishment of a
credible and legitimate government, the government originally
said that elections would be held next May.

However, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said late last
month that the general election would be held at the earliest
next June.

Those present at the Senayan ceremony included the secretary-
general of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Feisal Tamin.

The four-day congress is being attended by some 1,000
representatives and participants from PPP's 27 provincial
chapters and 330 district branches.

Ismail also reminded people of Habibie's pledge that the
current government would last only until the end of next year.
"We hope for his (Habibie's) sincerity and willingness to end his
term by the end of 1999," he said.

He reiterated widespread demands for fair and democratically
organized elections. "Should the one-year-long Habibie
administration prove able to organize a democratic general
election, the achievement will be widely recognized and it will
be respected by the people as being better than the two previous
manipulative and authoritarian governments," he said, referring
to both the Sukarno and Soeharto regimes.

The party has made a public apology for its failure to stand
up to Soeharto.

Ismail called on the nation to shun violence and pressured the
authorities to immediately end the social, economical and
political crisis as soon as possible.

Given the impossibility of facilitating an economic, political
and social recovery within a short period, he said: "Violence
will only create more problems and new threats of
disintegration."

He also disagreed with the idea of a transitional government
being led by a presidium of public figures, arguing that it was
unconstitutional and could be classified as an attempted coup.
This controversial aspiration has been voiced by many student and
activist groups.

After the opening ceremony, the plenary session led by Zein
Badjeber, the head of the party's executive board, drew up the
congress rules and schedule after a heated discussion. Many
attendees praised the protracted process for its democratic
atmosphere. (imn)