PRD responds coolly to lifting of ban on the party
PRD responds coolly to lifting of ban on the party
JAKARTA (JP): Leaders of the Democratic People's Party (PRD)
were unmoved yesterday by a court ruling ordering the government
to lift a ban on the party, dismissing it as another populist
ploy by President B.J. Habibie's government.
In a statement signed by jailed party chairman Budiman
Sudjatmiko and secretary-general Petrus Kariyanto, the party said
the decision "has not given sufficient evidence that the Habibie
regime is practicing political reforms toward democratization.
"The revocation in fact looks like a bribe to present a guise
of democracy rather than an honest attempt to conduct political
reforms," said the statement, read by PRD committee member Ida
Nasim at a news conference here yesterday.
The Jakarta State Administrative Court on Monday ordered the
annulment of a 1997 ministerial decree banning the PRD for
failing to name state ideology Pancasila and the 1945
Constitution as their political guidelines.
Officials of the National Police, the Attorney General's
Office, the State Intelligence Coordinating Body, the Armed
Forces headquarters and the Ministry of Home Affairs had
contended at the time of the banning that the party's activities
disturbed national stability and order.
Nine PRD leaders were sentenced last year to between 18 months
and 13 years in prison for subversion, with chairman Budiman
receiving the longest term.
"This is still a superficial victory," Ida replied when asked
to comment on the latest development.
The decision, she said, failed to address the overall problem
of political democracy in the country.
She maintained that as long as the Armed Forces (ABRI)
continued to wield a presence in the political sphere, democracy
could never be achieved.
Wilson, who heads the party's affiliated Center for Indonesian
Labor Strife, said the party would not register itself at the
Ministry of Home Affairs since it did not "recognize the legal
requirements set by the current regime".
Meanwhile in Bekasi, West Java, Minister of Home Affairs
Syarwan Hamid said he would abide by the court decision.
He admitted some weaknesses might have been contained in the
initial ministerial decree declaring the party illegal.
Syarwan in 1996 was one of those who was quick to condemn PRD,
claiming that it was structurally equivalent to the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party.
Syarwan, who was then the Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical
affairs, also contended that Budiman was from a leftist family
and involved in communist-related activities aimed at undermining
the government. (byg)