Soeharto's renomination challenged
Soeharto's renomination challenged
JAKARTA (JP): The growing support for President Soeharto to stay in power beyond 1998 was publicly challenged yesterday by activists of the Center of Information and Action Network for Reformation (Pijar).
About a dozen activists voiced their opposition to the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction in the House of Representatives, where they found a sympathetic response from legislators Aberson M. Sihaloho, Sopan Sophiaan and Royani Haminullah.
The activists, mostly students, demanded a law restricting presidential power and limiting the number of terms a president may serve to two.
"We fully support alternative candidates in the 1998 presidential election," Pijar said in a petition submitted to the PDI legislators.
The demonstration came two days after the National Youth Committee, an umbrella for dozens of youth organizations, issued a statement calling on President Soeharto, now 74 years old, to stay at the helm after 1998.
The National Youth Committee is one of more than 20 organizations and individual figures who have asked the incumbent leader to run for the post again in 1998.
Soeharto was appointed acting president in 1967 and full president the following year. He has since been reelected unchallenged five times.
Aberson said he personally shared Pijar activists' concerns and supported their cause.
He said the PDI has been subject to unjust treatment.
For example, while numerous organizations freely voiced support for President Soeharto's renomination, Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. criticized party activists for proposing PDI chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri for president, he said.
While many PDI members and supporters are urging Megawati to run in the 1998 presidential race, some of her senior members advise against it. Megawati, a daughter of former president Sukarno, has not stated her position.
Aberson's recent outbursts criticizing the government and the military have not passed unnoticed by his faction leaders and also by legislators from other factions.
Expulsion
Faction secretary Markus Wauran said the party is considering Aberson's expulsion after he threatened last week to reject the government's budget bill.
Aberson never carried out his threat and the government's 1996/1997 spending plans were approved by acclamation by the House last month.
The chairman of the Armed Forces faction, Suparman Achmad, last week also criticized Aberson's remarks as "dangerous" and did not necessarily reflect his party's position.
The decision to expel Aberson is for the PDI faction to decide, said Suparman, while also underlining that if Aberson is retained in the House he could undermine the PDI and its faction.
He was particularly critical of Aberson's critical stand against the military playing a role in politics, something which the PDI has accepted without any question. (pan)