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)