Yogie S.M. meets with maverick PDI chapter

JAKARTA (JP): Seven representatives of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) from East Java visited the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday to discuss the ongoing fierce battle for the leadership of the party's chapter in that province.

According to Antara, the representatives, supporters of the maverick chapter leader Latief Pudjosakti, tried in vain to meet with Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M.

Instead they were received by lower ranking officials of the ministry, who promised to pass their message on to the minister.

The seven said they had come all the way from Surabaya, to give their side of the story, after Yogie met last week with PDI chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri to discuss the conflict.

"We want to make sure that the minister receives a more balanced picture of the situation," Sani Setiadi, one of the seven representatives, said after the meeting.

The six other representatives were Amin Hadi, Edi Kusno, Zakaria, Mas'oed, Sardo Suryo Pamubudi and Harun Al Rasyid.

Latief Pudjosakti has been staking his claim to lead the party's East Java chapter, although his leadership is not recognized by the party's central executive board led by Megawati.

Latief, known to have strongly opposed Megawati's leadership, has aligned himself with other discontented party leaders to form a rival central executive board. Yogie has repeatedly said that the government only recognizes the leadership of Megawati.

However, Megawati has been prevented from installing the East Java chapter leader of her choice because the East Java Provincial Administration refuses to issue a permit for the ceremony. This policy has lent the government open to criticisms that it is siding with Megawati's opponents.

The government has insisted that the bickering in the party's East Java chapter should be resolved by the party's leaders themselves.

"We came here of our own accord. We weren't told by anyone," Sani told reporters after the meeting.

However, some of the party's representatives who came yesterday insisted that while they are disputing the central executive board's policy on the leadership question in East Java, they remain loyal to the current central executive board. (emb)