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)