Soeharto backs Basofi in PDI feud
Soeharto backs Basofi in PDI feud
JAKARTA (JP): East Java Governor Basofi Sudirman yesterday said he has the support of President Soeharto on how he has approached the row dividing the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in his territory.
Basofi told reporters after meeting with the President at his Bina Graha office that the PDI row should be resolved by the party itself and that the governor is in a position to help.
But, first of all, the PDI leaders themselves must admit that there is a problem, he quoted Soeharto as saying.
"They have to see the reality. They have to open their eyes and minds to the fact that the problem exists. We cannot allow personal interests to overpower wider interests, including the interests of the party," he said, again citing the President.
If all parties accept that there is a problem, the next step is to encourage them to meet and resolve it, he added.
The governor's remarks were apparently aimed at the PDI's Central Executive Board in Jakarta which insists that the problem in East Java has been resolved with the appointment of its chosen figure, Soetjipto, as head of the chapter.
The PDI chapter in East Java has been split into two camps for the past year, one supporting the leadership of Megawati Sukarnoputri, the PDI chair in Jakarta, and the other headed by Latief Pudjosakti, a former chapter chairman and a staunch opponent of Megawati.
Basofi, who has been widely criticized for the way he has shielded Latief, insisted yesterday that it was his duty to protect everyone in his territory.
He pointed out that Latief still has a strong influence among PDI members in East Java and if the provincial administration has decided to recognize Soetjipto's leadership, it will open itself to accusations that it is taking sides.
The East Java administration has repeatedly blocked Megawati's attempts to formally install Soetjipto as the local chapter chairman by refusing to issue the necessary gathering permit.
Basofi likened the row in the PDI to a conflict between "a father and his son", rather than a conflict between "two sons".
This is all the more reason why the administration is compelled to mediate, he said. "Certainly, we cannot let the father simply solve the problem. Father and son must talk first. You have to have pity on the son."
While Megawati has insisted that Soetjipto has been formally appointed as the chapter chairman, the East Java administration has recognized neither the leadership of Soetjipto nor Latief.
Last month, when the East Java administration set up the regional election committee, the seat for the PDI representative was left vacant pending the resolution of the leadership problem. The government has given PDI until May to appoint its representative to the election board.
Basofi said that if the May deadline is passed and PDI still cannot not appoint a legitimate representative, the 1997 election would still proceed. The fact that PDI will not be represented would not negate the outcome at the polls.
The governor said he has attempted several times to bring the opposing camps together to resolve their differences. But his efforts were thwarted because Megawati's camp has turned down the offer of mediation.
"To this day, he (Soeharto) has never said I was wrong," he said, when asked if the President had criticized the way he approached the problem. "But he did caution me that I should be careful and avoid falling into various traps."
"Yet, others have said that I have been too cautious," he added.
Asked about the impact of the row on East Java, Basofi said:
"It has not affected the development there, but the row is still a thorn in the side of East Java. We can really feel it." (emb)