Pressure on PDI up over communist links
Pressure on PDI up over communist links
JAKARTA (JP: The government intensified its pressure on the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) yesterday with Home Affairs
Minister Yogie S.M. supporting an allegation that 300 party
members have past communist links.
Yogie said the claim made by a disgruntled PDI member last
week seems to have credibility because the Armed Forces (ABRI)
Chief, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, believes it.
"The ABRI chief must have solid evidence to support his belief
and I share his view," Yogie told journalists in Bandung, West
Java.
The "supervisor" of domestic political affairs made the
remarks only a day after Feisal announced that Bakorstanas, the
national security agency he chairs, would investigate the
allegation made by PDI rebel Jusuf Merukh.
Yogie said the government will submit the results of the
investigation to PDI chief Megawati Soekarnoputri. "It will be up
to her what action she takes against them," he added.
PDI officials are curious as to why so many of its members are
suspected of having past communist links despite the requirement
of everyone being tightly screened by ABRI before being able to
assume a party post.
They say the allegation was made by those who do not want to
see the party grow strong under Megawati.
In a related development, chief of the Diponegoro military
command Maj. Gen. Soeyono who oversees security in Central Java,
said yesterday that he takes the allegations of there being PDI
leaders in the province with communist links seriously.
Soeyono, who also heads the local security agency
(Bakorstanasda), added he would look into the matter and take
action against those proven to have past links with communists.
"We will not hesitate to crush anyone who has communist links,
no matter who they are and what position they hold. All
communists will have to face us (armed forces)," he said.
Anniversary
The Central Java government is busy arranging security for the
anniversary celebration of the conflict-ridden PDI scheduled for
Jan. 10 in Surakarta.
Governor Soewardi and Soeyono convened a special meeting
yesterday to discuss security measures to be taken for the
celebration.
"We want to ensure that those involved in the internal
bickering will not vent their anger and disrupt the revelry,"
Soewardi told reporters yesterday.
The presence of PDI chief Megawati at the celebration is
expected to provoke violent reactions from her political foes, he
added.
The minority party, a nationalist-Christian alliance, will
celebrate its 22nd anniversary just when its notorious long-
standing internal conflict is worsening.
In the latest development, several disgruntled party leaders
established a rival board of executives after Megawati fired two
senior party rebels.
Opposing camps have often come close to physical clashes when
demonstrating at party headquarters in Jakarta. In one of the
worst incidents, physical clashes occurred during a congress in
Medan, North Sumatra, in 1993.
Governor Soewardi said the authorities have anticipated all
possible incidents that could happen at the celebration which
will bring together thousands of party members and supporters
from across the country.
Maj. Gen. Soeyono said he was not sure why Megawati chose
Surakarta as the venue of the party's anniversary.
"Possibly because she believes that the peaceful atmosphere
the city is known for will help disperse the hostility of the
activists," he said.(pan/har/pet)