Rivals admit responsibility for seizing Golkar flags
JAKARTA (JP): Rival political parties admitted responsibility for the theft of scores of Golkar Party flags in a number of regencies in East Java.
Flags were stolen in the regencies of Probolinggo, Magetan, Bojonegoro, Tuban, the Malang township and the provincial capital of Surabaya. In two Golkar-dominated regencies, Madiun and Magetan, nearly all of Golkar's flags and other attributes were stolen by unidentified parties.
However, in Probolinggo, supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) admitted their joint involvement in seizing Golkar flags and other attributes.
Singgih Hartono of the Probolinggo branch of PDI Perjuangan defended the action, saying that the Golkar symbols which they seized were the old ones, which should have been changed according to Golkar's new identity as a political party.
"The symbols don't have the word 'party' and the new number '33' on them," Singgih said. Golkar Party is among 48 political parties contesting the June 7 general election and is no longer the number two poll contestant as in past elections. Golkar also is now officially a political party, whereas before it was classified as a functional group.
The chairman of the East Java chapter of the Justice and Unity Party, Indra Prajitno, also justified the thefts, saying Golkar had violated the new elections law by displaying flags with incorrect identification. East Java Golkar chairman Doetomo said, "Seizing flags cannot be justified for whatever reason. I'll lodge a protest with the Provincial Elections Committee."
Separately, the Malang chapter of the Abul Yatama Party announced it would distribute money to school children and other residents, saying it was continuing its tradition of helping the poor. Denying attempts to buy votes, party chairman Eko Budi Sumantri said, "Helping the needy is highly recommended in Islam."
In Semarang, a political lecturer reiterated calls for Golkar Party to postpone planned functions in the province in order to avoid further unrest.
"Residents are so tired of the former practices of the ruling Golkar Party," Novel Ali, a deputy on the Central Java Elections Supervisory Committee, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He cited the pressure placed on residents to paint everything yellow, the color of Golkar, ahead of the last election.
The secretary of the Solo chapter of Golkar, Djoko Trisnowidodo, said Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung's planned April 17 visit to the town had been rescheduled for an as yet unidentified date, because April 17 was the Islamic New Year and a national holiday.
On Friday protests continued against harassment of female Golkar supporters in Purbalingga.
On April 2, people wearing PDI Perjuangan attributes ordered male and female Golkar supporters to remove their Golkar shirts.
The General Elections Commission is sending a fact-finding team to Purbalingga on Monday. Central Java Police Chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi said some women removed their Golkar shirts out of fear. The Coalition of Indonesian Women for Justice and Democracy stated that the sexual harassment case "markedly affected women's wishes to be more active in politics". (nur/har/anr)