Organizations Participating in the Election (OPP) stated their disagreement with the election rules regulated by decrees issued by the minister of internal affairs and the minister of information. In addition to damaging the OPPs, especially the political parties, regulation by those two decrees will also reduce the independence and autonomy of the OPPs themselves. Budi Hardjono, SH [Master of Laws], chairman of the PDI's [Indonesian Democracy Party] DPP [Central Executive Committee], asserted that campaign rules spelling out Government Regulation No. 74/1996 and Presidential Decree No. 99/1996 will reduce the autonomy and independence of the Organizations Participating in the Election (OPP) even further.

Speaking with PEMBARUAN on Thursday morning about the campaign rules regulated by minister of internal affairs decree Number 07/1997 and minister of information decree 012/1997, Budi stated that the OPPs are a component of the people's sovereignty which sets an agreement which the government must carry out, and in this case the government should actually be a component of the people's sovereignty. "The role of the government is no more important the that of the OPPs as a component of the people's sovereignty," he said.

Censorship

Budi said that government censorship of OPP campaign speech scripts in the electronic media is contrary to article 28 of the 1945 Constitution. Censorship reduces the sovereignty and autonomy of the OPPs. He said that there are no grounds for censoring OPP campaign materials since the OPPs are constitutionally legal organizations, their programs are clear, their leadership is clear and their membership and offices are clear.

If there are any OPP campaigns which deviate from this, all you have to do is issue a warning or take them to court.

As for an appointment of a moderator for campaign dialogues by the election committee, Budi stated that was the right of the OPPs since the OPPs will certainly not take just any moderator. "The OPPs will look for the best moderator," he said.

PPP [United Development Party]

Meanwhile, when he was contacted separately on Thursday morning, Zain Badjeber, chairman of the PPP's DPP, stated that the quality of the 1997 election, as mandated by the 1993 GBHN [Broad Outlines of the Nation's Direction], must be improved by giving the OPPs a greater role in it. However, all campaign regulations issued thus far indicate that the government still considers the OPPs unready for this.

"This can be seen in the great number of regulations the gist of which is government interference in OPP affairs," he said. He stated that the developmental stage of the OPPs is past and now is the time to strengthen their independence. In fact, the 1993 GBHN mandated that the quality of elections should be improved by giving the OPPs a greater role.

This election is giving the government too much authority to interfere in OPP affairs with the result that OPP viewpoints are always wrong, he said.

He stated that requiring a campaign moderator for dialogues, as indicated by the government, would most certainly make the atmosphere of the dialogues awkward so that in the end it would turn into a monologue and not a dialogue or a question and answer period. "In previous discussions with all the OPPs and all the elements and parties of the Defense and Security Board we have been in agreement: A moderator should not be appointed by the election committee but that turned out not to be the case in the rules," said Zain.

Zain was also confused about censorship of campaign speech scripts for the electronic media since if the government is consistent about censoring campaign materials, how will they censor the dialogues and monologues in the field? The OPPs should be responsible for their own campaign materials, and if the government feels that something is inappropriate they can be taken to court.