Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's second-largest political party, Golkar, is working behind the scenes to turn the recent deadly clash between its cadres and supporters of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P) into a long-running campaign issue.
The clash, dubbed the Buleleng incident, occured on October 26 when a PDI-P mob attacked a Golkar campaign office in Buleleng, Bali, killing two Golkar cadres.
Golkar chairman and parliament Speaker Akbar Tandjung said such incidents "cannot be tolerated" and urged party members to "defend themselves in any way they can" in the future.
Campaign violence has often occurred in Indonesia, but Buleleng may have long-term repercussions.
Golkar has taken legal steps to keep the case alive, and to potentially use it against PDI-P, its biggest rival, in next year's elections. The party has formed a formidable legal team led by former attorney-general Marzuki Darusman.
The team's job is to monitor the progress of police investigations and court prosecution against those who led the attack. So far, the police have questioned nearly 40 people who are thought to be involved in the case. At least six face charges, including murder charges.
MP Ade Komaruddin, a deputy chairman of Golkar's faction in parliament, told The Straits Times: "This case should be processed using legal channels, for now. Whoever committed anarchy should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." He added that the police should not stop at investigating what happened at the scene of the clash, but also explore the possibility that provocateurs, including from PDI-P's senior ranks, had been responsible in mobilising the mob.
"Depending on that investigation's outcome, we may ask for formal apologies from selected individuals from PDI-P, or from the party as a whole." Mr Ade and other Golkar legislators did not rule out the filing of civil lawsuits against PDI-P at some later stage, including when the campaign race heats up early next year.
The basic point, said political observers, is that Golkar sees Buleleng as a way of embarrassing PDI-P, which collected more votes in the last general election held in 1999. The strategy may work well for the party, particularly with voters who have not yet firmly made up their minds about their choices.
Mr Arbi Sanit, a political observer at the University of Indonesia, said: "PDI-P has a tendency to use its cadres to intimidate and attack its political rivals. That strategy may have worked in the last election. Golkar may want to highlight incidents such as Buleleng to convince voters that it is a more modern and open party, and one that has been victimised, especially by PDI-P." Mr Ade said: "We are confident that voters are mature enough, that our democracy is mature enough now. Voters should see violence as a bad tactic to use during elections, and make their choices by how different parties actually conduct a political, not physical, campaign."