Yogie S.M. meets with maverick PDI chapter

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)