Soerjadi told to occupy HQ

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. yesterday told the new executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) to occupy the recently-disputed party headquarters.

"The new board must take up office at the secretariat as soon as possible," he said in reference to the building at Jl. Diponegoro 58, Central Jakarta, which was forcibly taken over on July 27 by around 800 drilled supporters of the PDI's new chairman, Soerjadi, from 200 supporters of the ousted party chief, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The incident was followed by mass riots which killed five people -- according to one version of the incident -- and injured more than 140. The police subsequently claimed the office was under their control and was status quo.

The building was extensively damaged during the takeover and has since been tightly guarded by police.

Yogie said yesterday the building may need repairs before the new board could make it fully operational as its secretariat.

He also suggested there be a ceremony to exorcise "ghosts" at the secretariat.

"Fixing the building may cost money. There may have to be an invocation, there could be a lot of ghosts in that office," Antara quoted him as saying.

Megawati was ousted in a government-backed dissenters' congress in Medan in June. She and her supporters have questioned the legality of the congress and are suing several government officials, including Yogie, for supporting the congress.

Speaking to journalists after opening a PDI board meeting in Bogor yesterday, Yogie urged the board to expedite its "consolidation effort" to fully participate in the preliminary stages of the next election.

Only when the party is fully consolidated can it help maintain national stability, Yogie said.

Soerjadi said the biggest challenge facing the PDI is the rebuilding of its image. He said the party's recent internal turmoil had been detrimental to it.

However, "the PDI must pick itself up in spite of these circumstances," he said. "In such a situation, the first thing we must do is realize our true position in the country's political dynamism."

Soerjadi said people should realize the PDI is a political organization which advocates "democracy with an Indonesian nuance".

Questioning

Separately, the Attorney General's Office yesterday said there was not enough proof to charge Benny Sumardi with subversion. Therefore, the dossier on him has been referred to City Police, said the office's spokesman, Pontas Pasaribu.

Benny is the brother of Father Ignatius Sandyawan Sumardi S.J., a Catholic priest who was earlier accused of harboring three wanted political activists. The activists, Budiman Sudjatmiko, Petrus Haryanto and Eko Kurniawan, have been accused of subversive activities, including inciting the July 27 riots. The three were arrested at Benny Sumardi's house.

Pontas further revealed that officials at the Attorney General's Office had interrogated detained labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan. Muchtar is also being accused of subversion, which carries the maximum penalty of death.

Pontas also said that Berar Fathia, a politician who rose to fame when she was unofficially nominated for presidency in 1992 and 1995, has been questioned in relation with the case being built against Budiman Sudjatmiko, the chairman of the unrecognized Democratic People's Party.

Berar is reported to have denied any connection with Budiman, although she has admitted often seeing Budiman at the Legal Aid Foundation's office. (mds)