PRD launches forum for reformers

PRD launches forum for reformers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Democratic People's Party (PRD) launched on Thursday the
Democracy Front to unite like-minded reformers within a forum in
a bid to revive the country's original reform movement.

PRD secretary-general Natalia Scholastika said the Democracy
Front could prove to become a viable opposition force to the
government and the legislature.

Asked what the forum would stand for, she said "first as a
savior of the people's sovereignty, then as the savior of the
people's political and economic agenda, and last as (a means) to
overthrow the Megawati-Hamzah Haz government."

She said toppling the government was easy, however this was
just the first step toward changing the system with which the
government was working under.

"The final target of the Democratic Front is to introduce this
nation to a new system of government, a new economic and
political concept," she said.

She said the front would hold a conference sometime later this
month to hammer out the details of its goals and how it would
achieve them.

Anyone who is basically anti-President Megawati Soekarnoputri
is invited to join, she said, adding that they wanted the forum
to be informal.

Thursday's launch of the front followed a discussion on the
fate of Indonesia's reform movement.

Discussion participants included former president Abdurrahman
Wahid, labor activist Dita Indah Sari and foreign expert on
Indonesia Jeffrey Winters.

Dita supported the idea of the Democracy Front becoming a
common platform, and called Megawati's presidency a
disappointment to the people.

Appearing hesitant to back the front was Abdurrahman, who
noted that it could lead to a revolution of which nobody
understood its objective yet.

"We should first come together and discuss what we mean by a
revolution," he said.