Soerjadi must be held responsible

Soerjadi must be held responsible

From Ummat

As a former staffer of the Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) I would like to give my opinion about the PDI problem.

In spite of the conflict within the Party -- and each group has both strengths and weaknesses -- PDI is in essence one family. However, PDI has never been a self-supporting entity. Therefore we should observe the latest case involving the PDI carefully. I think the two conflicting groups should reconcile and create one new force.

The huge support given to the PDI under Megawati, who has inherited the charisma of her father, indicates that the people want the PDI to become a solid self-supporting political party. Meanwhile, Soerjadi was judged to have a more cooperative attitude, able to accommodate various interests. This has been attributed to the party's success in the 1992 elections when the PDI garnered more votes. But then the people were disappointed, feeling that they had merely been used as a tool to reach power. Soerjadi's election as PDI's chairman in the controversial congress in Medan has been rejected by the people because of external interference.

As Soerjadi's PDI got the government's approval, Soerjadi should find the solution to the PDI conflict.

R.A. BERAR FATHIA

Bekasi, West Java