Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have approved in principle an opposition party congress held by popular politician Megawati Sukarnoputri in Bali next week, police chief Lieutenant General Rusmanhadi said Wednesday.
"In principle, a permit for a congress of the PDI Perjuangan is approved," Rusmanhadi said after a cabinet meeting on political and security affairs presided over by President B.J. Habibie. Rusmanhadi however, said that Megawati had yet to file a demand for a permit.
PDI Perjuangan (Struggle) is the name of the faction of the Indonesian Democracy Party (PDI) led by Megawati which is separate from the state-recognised PDI faction under the leadership of Budi Harjono. Megawati was ousted from the PDI leadership in 1996 in a faction based "coup" orchestrated by the then-Suharto government. The move sparked massive rioting in Jakarta which left at least four dead.
The government, continuing the policy of the previous Suharto administration, does not recognise Megawati's PDI faction as representing the party. However, Habibie's government has offered recognition if Megawati's PDI uses a new name. Megawati and her faction have said a name change can only be made by a national congress.
Megawati said Monday that she and her faction planned to go ahead with the congress scheduled for October 8-11 in the resort island of Bali despite the absence of government recognition for her party or a permit for the congress.
Armed Forces Chief General Wiranto said Tuesday that Jakarta would have no objection to the holding of the congress if Megawati and her faction can guarantee that the congress will not lead to unrest.
He said the authorities were concerned that unrest in Bali may affect tourism there. Bali has been relatively untouched by the unrest that has flared intermittently in other parts of Indonesia since the mid-May riots that saw Suhrato resign and thousands of foreigners and ethnic Chinese flee the country.
The resort island has become one of the country's main hopes in the drive to boost tourism revenues to offset falling receipts from other crisis-hit sectors.