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)