Soerjadi vows to refuse renomination

Soerjadi vows to refuse renomination

JAKARTA (JP): Soerjadi, the besieged chairman of the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), said he would refuse any
attempt to renominate him during the government-backed party
congress which opens today in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

"I do not want to be renominated as chairman, although that
does not mean I will leave the organization altogether," Soerjadi
was quoted by Antara as saying in Palu yesterday, where tension
between his supporters and those loyal to popular ousted leader
Megawati Soekarnoputri escalated in the hours before the congress
opened this morning

Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid is scheduled to
represent President B.J. Habibie at the opening ceremony this
morning. Eight hundred party executives will participate in the
event tightly guarded by 1,300 police personnel and an additional
1,500 Soerjadi's supporters appointed as party's task force.

Tight security measures were put in place following an influx
to the city of Megawati's supporters intent on disrupting the
congress.

Syarwan himself, exasperated with the lingering feud which the
government has at many points helped to exacerbate, said in
Semarang, Central Java, yesterday that he and the public could
only pray for divine assistance to reconcile Soerjadi and
Megawati.

"I'm just hoping that Soerjadi and Megawati can reunite and
help build a better PDI to run in the next general election,"
Syarwan said after installing Mardiyanto as the new Central Java
governor, replacing Soewardi.

"Let us pray," he said, adding that the government recognized
the strength of Megawati's popular support but that Soerjadi,
too, had contributed greatly to domestic political developments.

He also said that a change of government policy in the favor
of Megawati would not solve the party's internal problems.

Soerjadi said reconciliation could not take place without both
sides sitting down to discuss the matter together. He said this
week's congress should be used as a way of uniting the two camps.

"We hope the congress will elect executives who are able to
unite the two sides," Soerjadi said.

The PDI has for years been split into two factions -- one led
by Soerjadi and the other by Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Soerjadi was named chairman in a government-backed breakaway
congress in the North Sumatra city of Medan in 1996. Megawati,
who was ousted as party chairwoman following the congress,
refused to recognize his leadership, saying that the Medan
congress and Soerjadi's chairmanship were illegitimate because
they were orchestrated by the government.

As of yesterday afternoon, 14 pro-Soerjadi provincial branches
had sent representatives to the congress, including 80 delegates
from Central Java, West Kalimantan and West Java.

Tensions rose yesterday when thousands of Megawati supporters
marched from various points in the city toward the Haj Dormitory,
where the congress is being held. Some left from Tadulako
University in East Palu at 10.40 and marched to the dormitory
past shuttered shops and offices, closed for fear of violent
clashes between supporters of the two factions.

Megawati's supporters came from as far afield as East Java,
Central Java, West Java, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, North Sulawesi,
South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.

The protesters waved posters and unfurled banners, one of
which read: "Disperse Soerjadi's Obscene Congress, Haj Dormitory
Not a Place for Political Whores."

Through megaphones, the protesters yelled assurances at shop
owners that they would not vandalize their property.

Some parts of the media reported that pro-Soerjadi supporters
entrusted with the task of safeguarding the congress had armed
themselves with a variety of weapons, including knives.

Antara also reported that some would-be passengers trying to
board planes to Sulawesi at Surabaya's Juanda Airport complained
that about 60 Megawati's supporters had become a nuisance in
their fervor to prevent Soerjadi supporter from boarding any
flights to the island. The supporters had insisted on checking
all cars driving toward the airport.

"They could have made us miss our flight," said one passenger.
(swe/har)