Rival E. Java PDI leaders sacked, third man named

Rival E. Java PDI leaders sacked, third man named

SURABAYA (JP): Soerjadi, the new chairman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), resolved a leadership conflict in the
party's East Java chapter by dumping two rivals for the
chairmanship and installing his own man instead.

A meeting of 37 local branches held at the Surabaya Airport
Hotel here yesterday agreed to appoint Dimmy Haryanto, one of
Soerjadi's deputies, as chairman of the new provincial chapter.
The two politicians claiming the post for the past two years were
Latief Pudjosakti and Soetjipto.

Dimmy was elected by a selection committee of three: Soerjadi,
Dimmy himself, and Latief Pudjosakti.

A well-informed source told The Jakarta Post that the
selection was a mere formality as a decision to make Dimmy head
was reached earlier during a limited meeting of the PDI executive
board on Wednesday.

The executive board was represented by secretary-general Buttu
Hutapea, Dimmy and fellow deputies Markus Wauran and Budi
Hardjono. The local branches in East Java were represented in the
meeting by Mentik Budiwiyono from Surabaya, Trimono Wahyu Sutomo
from Mojokerto and Sani Setiadi of Tulungagung.

The leadership conflict in PDI's East Java chapter has
dragged on for two years. Soetjipto is backed by the deposed PDI
chief, Megawati Soekarnoputri, while Latief Pudjosakti is a self-
styled leader who had been enjoying the support of East Java
Governor Basofi Soedirman. Soerjadi, however, reportedly cannot
stand Latief, who once helped topple him in the 1993 congress
which elected Megawati.

Following his election to the PDI helm in June at the
government-backed dissident congress in Medan, North Sumatra,
Soerjadi appointed Dimmy as caretaker of the party chapter.

Yesterday's meeting was opened by Soerjadi and also attended
by the chief of the provincial administration's sociopolitical
bureau, S. Setiawan.

The deliberations proceeded smoothly as the 146 politicians
representing the 37 branches all supported Soerjadi. No Megawati
backers, including Soetjipto, were invited to the meeting.

Protest

At midday, around 1,000 Megawati supporters came and staged a
demonstration outside the tightly-guarded hotel. The group
distributed pamphlets condemning and blaming Soerjadi for the
July 27 riots, which erupted after his men took over the party
headquarters in Jakarta from Megawati's supporters.

The protesters also said the congress in Medan was a violation
of the party's constitution and therefore not valid.

The protesters tried to get past the cordon of security
officers but failed. They left but not before ripping a number of
PDI flags off their poles along Jl. Juanda.

After his inauguration, Dimmy told reporters that he plans to
"consolidate" the party chapter and negotiate with the branches
still opposed to Soerjadi in Bangkalan, Kediri and Malang.

"We'll convince them. If they still refuse, then what can we
do? We'll go ahead and establish the chapter's board (leaving
them unrepresented)," he said.

Dimmy also promised to seek Soetjipto's cooperation. "I'll do
my best to include those who have been rejecting the Medan
congress," he said. "I can't force them to join us, but this is
important for the party because the general elections are
approaching."

Governor Basofi expressed relief over the development. "I
recognize Dimmy's leadership," he said.

The East Java chapter had been told to solve its conflict by
Sept. 6. The region's electoral board is scheduled to meet on
Sept. 10 to receive the lists of candidates from the three
political groupings contesting the general elections next year.
(15/swe)